JEWISH   IMMIGRATION  TO 
THE  UNITED  STATES  / 


FROM  1881  TO  1910 


BY 

SAMUEL  JOSEPH,  A.  B. 
*u 

Instructor  in  the  Commercial  High  School, 
Brooklyn,  New  York 


SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS 

FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

IN  THE 

FACULTY  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


NEW  YORK 
1914 


COPYRIGHT,  1914 

BY 
SAMUEL  JOSEPH 


Co 
MY  FATHER  AND    MY  MOTHER 


PREFACE 

IN  this  survey  of  Jewish  immigration  to  the  United 
States  for  the  past  thirty  years,  my  purpose  has  been  to 
present  the  main  features  of  a  movement  of  population  that 
is  one  of  the  most  striking  of  modern  times.  The  causes) 
of  Jewish  emigration  from  Eastern  Europe,  the  course  of 
Jewish  immigration  to  the  United  States  and  the  most  im- 
portant social  qualities  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  are  studied 
for  the  light  they  throw  upon  the  character  of  this  move- 
ment. The  method  employed  in  this  investigation  has  been 
largely  statistical  and  comparative,  a  fact  which  is  partly1 
due  to  the  kind  of  material  that  was  available  and  partly 
to  the  point  of  view  that  has  been  taken.  Certain  eco- 
nomic and  social  factors,  having  a  close  bearing  upon  the 
past  and  present  situation  of  the  Jews  in  Eastern  Europe 
and  frequently  neglected  in  the  discussion  of  the  various 
phases  of  this  movement,  have  been  emphasized  in  the  ex- 
amination into  the  causes  of  the  emigration  of  the  Jews 
from  Eastern  Europe  and  have  been  found  vital  in  deter- 
mining the  specific  character  of  the  Jewish  immigration  to 
this  country. 

I  desire  gratefully  to  acknowledge  my  deep  indebtedness 
to  Mr.  A.  S.  Freidus,  head  of  the  Jewish  department  of 
the  New  York  Public  Library,  for  his  ever-ready  assistance 
in  the  preparation  of  this  work.  Thanks  are  due  as  well 
to  Dr.  C.  C.  Williamson,  head  of  the  Economics  depart- 
ment of  the  library,  and  to  his  able  and  courteous  staff;  to 
Professor  Robert  E.  Chaddock  for  his  many  valuable  sug- 
423]  7 


8  PREFACE  [424 

gestions  and  aid  in  the  making  of  the  statistical  tables  and 
in  the  reading  of  the  proof;  and  to  Professor  Edwin  R.  A. 
Seligman  for  his  painstaking  reading  of  the  manuscript 

SAMUEL  JOSEPH. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PART  I.— THE  CAUSES  OF  JEWISH  EMIGRATION. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  I 
Introduction. 

1.  Character  of  Jewish  immigration 21 

2.  Eastern  Europe       22 

3.  Distribution  of  Jews  in  Eastern  Europe 22 

4.  Uniform  character  of  East-European  Jews 22 

CHAPTER  II 

EASTERN  EUROPE:  ECONOMIC,  SOCIAL  AND  POLITICAL  CONDITIONS. 
I.  Russia. 

1.  Medieval  past • 27 

2.  Agricultural  character 28 

3.  Emancipation  of  serfs 29 

4.  Reminiscences  of  serfdom 29 

5.  Changes  since  the  emancipation 30 

6.  Epoch  of  transition 31 

7.  Social  orders:  classes,  the  church 31 

8.  Political  order:  autocracy,  bureaucracy 32 

9.  Political  struggle:  Russian  liberalism 32 

10.  Reaction  since  Alexander  III ,  33 

II.   Roumania. 

1.  Social-economic  classes 34 

2.  Emancipation  of  the  serfs:  results 35 

3.  Development  of  industry  and  commerce 36 

4.  Growth  of  a  middle  class 36 

III.  Austria- Hungary. 

1.  Reminiscences  of  medieval  economy 37 

2.  Transitional  nature  of  economic  life 37 

3.  Organization  of  industry  and  commerce 37 

4.  Politico-economic  struggles 38 

5.  Galicia:  economic  and  social  conditions 39 

IV.  Summary. 

425]  o 


10  CONTENTS  [426 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  III 

THE  JEWS  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE:  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  POSITION 
I.  JRussia. 

1.  Economic  characteristics  . 42 

a.  Occupational  distribution  of  the  Jews     .......  42 

b.  Comparison  with  the  non-Jews .  42 

c.  Participation  of  the  Jews  in  principal  occupational 

groups 43 

d.  Comparison  of  occupational  distribution  of  Jews  and 

non-Jews  in  the  Pale 43 

e.  Economic  activities  of  the  Jews 44 

2.  Social  characteristics 46 

a.  Urban  distribution  of  the  Jews 46 

b.  Comparison  with  the  non-Jews 46 

c.  Literacy:  comparison  with  the  non-Jews 47 

d.  Liberal  professions:  comparison  with  the  non-Jews.  48 

II.  Roumania. 

1.  Economic  characteristics 48 

a.  The  Jews  as  merchants  and  entrepreneurs 48 

b.  The  Jewish  artisans 49 

c.  Participation  of  the  Jews  in  industry  and  commerce.  49 

2.  Social  characteristics 49 

a.  Urban  distribution  of  the  Jews 49 

b.  Comparison  with  the  non-Jews 49 

c.  Literacy:  comparison  with  the  non-Jews 50 

III.  Austria-Hungary. 

i.  Economic  characteristics  .....       50 

a.  Occupational  distribution  of  the  Jews 50 

b.  Comparison  with  the  non-Jews 51 

c.  Participation  of   the  Jews  in  principal  occupational 

groups 51 

Galicia 51 

a.  Occupational  distribution  of  the  Jews 51 

b.  Comparison  with  the  non-Jews .  51 

c.  Participation  of   the  Jews  in  principal  occupational 

groups 51 

d.  Industrial    and  commercial   position  of  the  Jews  in 

East  and  West  Galicia 52 


427]                                       CONTENTS  u 

PAGE 

2.  Social  characteristics 52 

a.  Urban  distribution  of  the  Jews 52 

b.  Comparison  with  the  non-Jews  .          52 

c.  Liberal  professions:  comparison  with  the  non-Jews.  52 

IV.    Summary. 

CHAPTER  IV 
THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY 

I.  Russia. 

1 .  Treatment  of  the  Jews  after  the  partitions  of  Poland  ...  56 

2.  Pale  of  Jewish  Settlement:  special  Jewish  laws 57 

3.  Attitude  of  Russian  government  toward  the  Jews.  ....  57 

4.  Alexander  II  and  liberalism 58 

5.  Reaction:  antagonism  to  the  Jews 59 

6.  Economic  attack:  the  May  Laws 60 

7.  Effect  of  the  May  Laws 61 

8.  Educational  restrictions:  the  "  percentage  rule  "    ....  62 

9.  Pogroms  :  pogroms  of  1881-2 63 

10.  Expulsions  from  Moscow 64 

11.  Nicholas  II:  anti-Jewish  agitation:  KishinefT 64 

12.  War  and  revolution:  effect  upon  the  Jews 65 

13.  Pogroms  as  counter-revolution 66 

14.  Results:  economic  and  social  pressure 67 

15.  Jewish  policy  of  reactionary  regime 68 

II.  Roumania. 

1.  Early  legal  status  of  the  Jews 69 

2.  Convention  of  Paris 69 

3.  Anti-Jewish  activities  of  the  government:  Article  VII  .   .  70 

4.  Berlin  Congress 70 

5.  Article  44  of  the  Berlin  Treaty 71 

6.  The  revised  Article  VII 71 

7.  Legal  status  of  the  Jews  fixed 72 

8.  Campaign  of  discrimination 73 

9.  Exclusion  of  Jews  from  economic  activities 73 

10.  Educational  restrictions:  restrictions  to  professional  ser- 

vice   74 

11.  Political  basis  of  anti-Jewish  policy,.    ..........  75 

12.  Results:  economic  and  social  pressure    . 76 

13.  Jewish  policy  of  Roumanian  government:  Hay's  circular 

note 76 


12  CONTENTS  [428 

PAGE 

III.  Austria-Hungary. 

1.  Early  legal  status  of  the  Jews:  emancipation 77 

2.  Jews  attacked  as  liberals  and  capitalists 78 

3.  Rise  of  political  antisemitism:  its  triumph:  the  clericals  .  78 
Galicia 78 

1.  Rise  of  a  Polish  middle  class:  displacement  of  Jews  in  in- 

dustry and  commerce .  79 

2.  Economic  boycott  of  Jewish  artisans  and  traders    ....  79 

3.  Anti -Jewish  activity  of  local  authorities 79 

4.  Over-competition  and  surplus  of   Jews  in  industry  and 

commerce 80 

5.  Historical  role  of  the  Jews:  antagonism  of  peasantry  and 

clergy 80 

CHAPTER  V 
CONCLUSION 


PART  II.— JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  THE  UNITED 

STATES 

A.  ITS  MOVEMENT 

CHAPTER  I 
DETERMINATION  OF  NUMBER  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS 

1.  Construction  of  table:  difficulties 87 

2.  Sources  utilized:  reports  of  Jewish  societies 87 

3.  Rearrangement  of  numbers  from  1886  to  1898 .   .  88 

4.  Determination  of  numbers  by  country  of  nativity:    methods 

used 88 

5.  Determination  of  numbers  from  1881  to  1885:  methods  used  .  90 

6.  Tendency  to  magnify  numbers  of  Jewish  immigrants   ....  91 

7.  Results 92 

CHAPTER  II 
IMMIGRATION  OF  JEWS  FROM  EASTERN  EUROPE 

1.  Jewish  immigration  East-European 95 

2.  Summary  by  decades  of  Jewish  immigration  from  Russia, 

Roumania  and  Austria- Hungary 95 

3.  Annual  contributions  of  Jewish   immigration  from   Russia, 

Roumania  and  Austria-Hungary 96 


429]                                         CONTENTS  I3 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  III 
IMMIGRATION  OF  JEWS  FROM  RUSSIA 

1.  Russian  Jewish  immigration  a  movement  of  steady  growth  .  .  98 

a.  Summary  by  decades 98 

b.  Annual  variations:  effect  of  the  Moscow  expulsions   .   .  98 

2.  Participation  of  Jews  in  the  immigration  from  Russia  ....  101 

a.  Annual  variations 101 

b.  Summary  by  decades               102 

c.  Relative  predominance  of  Jewish  in  total 102 

3.  Intensity  of  Jewish  immigration  from  Russia 103 

a.  Rate  of  immigration  ...                          103 

b.  Fluctuations  of  rate 104 

CHAPTER  IV 
IMMIGRATION  OF  JEWS  FROM  ROUMANIA 

1.  Roumanian  Jewish  immigration  a  rising  movement 105 

a.  Summary  by  decades 105 

b.  Annual  variations 105 

2.  Participation  of  Jews  in  the  immigration  from  Roumania   .    .  107 

a.  Jewish  and  total  synonymous 107 

b.  Annual  variations 107 

3.  Intensity  of  Jewish  immigration  from  Roumania 108 

a.  Rate  of  immigration 108 

b.  Fluctuations  of  rate 108 

CHAPTER  V 
IMMIGRATION  OF  JEWS  FROM  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 

1.  Jewish  immigration  from  Austria-Hungary  a  rising  movement  109 

a.  Summary  by  decades 109 

b.  Annual  variations 109 

c.  Comparison  of  Jewish  with  total no 

2.  Participation    of    Jews   in    the    immigration   from    Austria- 

Hungary  no 

a.  Summary  by  decades no 

b.  Annual  variations in 

3.  Comparison    of    immigration   of    Jews    from     Austria    and 

Hungary in 

a.  Numbers ill 

b.  Participation  in  total ill 

4.  Immigration  of  Jews  and  other  peoples  from  Austria-Hungary.  1 12 

5.  Rate  of  Jewish  immigration  from  Austria -Hungary 112 


I4  CONTENTS  [430 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  VI 
JEWISH  IMMIGRATION 

1.  Total  movement  one  of  geometrical  progression    ......  113 

a.  Summary  by  decades 113 

b.  Summary  by  six-year  periods 113 

c.  Annual  variations 114 

CHAPTER   VII 
PARTICIPATION  OF  JEWS  IN  TOTAL  IMMIGRATION 

1.  Rise  in  proportion  of  Jewish  to  total 117 

2.  Summary  by  decades 117 

3.  Annual  variations 117 

4.  Comparison  of  annual  variations  of  Jewish  and  total  immigra- 

tion .   .   .  • 118 

5.  Rank  of  Jewish  in  total  immigration 119 

6.  Rate  of  immigration 120 

CHAPTER  VIII 

SUMMARY 

B.  ITS  CHARACTERISTICS 

CHAPTER  I 

FAMILY  MOVEMENT 

1.  Importance  of  sex  and  age  distribution 127 

2.  Proportion  of  females  in  Jewish  immigration          127 

a.  Tendency  towards  increase 127 

3.  Proportion  of  children  in  Jewish  immigration 128 

4.  Proportion  of  sexes  in  total  and  Jewish  immigration 129 

5.  Proportion  of  children  in  total  and  Jewish  immigration    .   .    .  129 

6.  Comparison  of  composition  by  sex  of  Jews  and  other  immi- 

grant peoples 130 

7.  Comparison  of  composition  by  age  of  Jews  and  other  immi- 

grant peoples 130 

8.  Comparison  of  composition  by  sex  and  age  of  Jews  and  the 

Slavic  races .    .  131 

9.  Comparison  of  composition  by  sex  and  age  of  Jews  from  Rou- 

mania  and  Roumanians 131 

10.  Comparison  of  composition  by  sex  and  age  of  Jewish  and 

"  old"  and  "  new"  immigration 132 

IT.  Conclusion 132 


431]  CONTENTS  !5 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  II. 

PERMANENT  SETTLEMENT 

1.  Emigration  of  Jews  compared  with  immigration  of  Jews  .   .    .    133 

2.  Comparison  of  return  movement  of  total  and  Jewish  immi- 

gration   134 

3.  Comparison  of  return  movement  of  Jews  and  other  immigrant 

peoples  134 

4.  Emigration  tendency  of  Jews  from   Russia,  Roumania  and 

Austria-Hungary 135 

5.  Comparison  of  return  movement  of  Jews   and   Poles  from 

Russia  and  Austria-Hungary 136 

6.  Comparison   of  return  movement  of  Jewish  and  "old"  and 

"new"  immigration 137 

7.  Comparison  of  return  movement  of  Jews  and  other  immigrant 

peoples,  1908 137 

8.  Response  of  Jewish  immigration  to  economic  conditions  in 

the  United  States  .  .    . 138 

9.  Comparison  of  Jews  and  other  immigrant  peoples  who  have 

been  previously  in  the  United  States 138 

10.  Conclusion 139 

CHAPTER  III 

OCCUPATIONS 

1.  Occupational  distribution  of  Jewish  immigrants 140 

2.  Jewish  immigrants  reporting  occupations 141 

a.  Number  and  percentage  of  occupational  groups  ...       .    141 

3.  Skilled  laborers        141 

a.  Garment  workers 141 

b.  Other  important  groups 142 

4.  Participation  of  Jews  in  occupational  distribution  of  total  im- 

migration     142 

5.  Comparison  of  occupational  distribution  of  Jews  and  other  im- 

migrant peoples 143 

6.  Comparison  of  occupational  distribution  of   Jews  and  Slavic 

peoples 144 

7.  Comparison  of  occupational  distribution  of  Jewish  and  "old  " 

and  "new"  immigration 144 

8.  Conclusion 145 


16  CONTENTS  [432 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  IV 
ILLITERACY 

1.  Illiteracy  of  Jewish  immigrants 146 

2.  Influence  of  sex  upon  illiteracy  of  Jewish  immigrants    .   .  146 

3.  Illiteracy  of  Jewish  male  and  female  immigrants  .  ......  147 

4.  Comparison  of  rate  of  illiteracy  of  Jews  and  other  immigrant 

peoples 147 

5.  Comparison   of  rate  of  illiteracy  of  Jewish    and  "old"  and 

"  new  "  immigration 147 

6.  Comparison  of  rate  of  illiteracy  of  Jews  and  East-European 

peoples 148 

7.  Comparison  of  rate  of  illiteracy  of  each  sex  among  Jews  and 

East-European  peoples 148 

8.  Conclusion 148 

CHAPTER  V 
DESTINATION 

1.  Factors  influencing  destination 149 

2.  Proportion  of  Jewish  immigrants  destined  for  divisions    .    .    .  149 

3.  Proportion  of  Jewish  immigrants  destined  for  principal  states.  149 

4.  Comparison   of   destination   of  Jews   and   other   immigrant 

peoples 150 

5.  Participation  of  Jews  in  the  immigration  destined  for  divisions.  150 

6.  Final  disposition  of  Jewish  immigrants 151 

CHAPTER  VI 
SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 


433  ]  CONTENTS  !7 

STATISTICAL  TABLES 

PAGE 

IA.  Participation  of  Jews  in  occupations  in  the  Russian  Em- 
pire, 1897.  158 
IAB.  Participation  of  Jews  in  occupations  in  the  Pale  of  Jewish 

Settlement,  1897 •    •    159 

II.  Jewish  immigration  at  the  ports  of  New  York,  Philadel- 
phia and  Baltimore,  July  to  June,  1886  to  1898  ....    159 
III.  Jewish  immigration  at  the  port  of  New  York,  July,  1885 

to  June,  1886,  by  month  and  country  of  nativity  .    .    .    159 
IVA.  Jewish  immigration  at  the  port  of  Philadelphia,  1886  to 

1898,  by  country  of  nativity 160 

IVB.  Jewish  immigration  at  the  port  of  Baltimore,  1891  to  1898, 

by  country  of  nativity 160 

V.  Jewish  immigration  at  the  ports  of  New  York,  Philadel- 
phia  and    Baltimore,    1886   to    1898,    by    country   of 

nativity.    ...  161 

VI.  Jewish  immigration  to  the  United  States,  1881  to  1910  .    .      93 
VII.  Percentage  of  annual  Jewish  immigration  to  the  United 
States,  contributed  by  each  country  of  nativity,  1881 
to  1910  94 

VIII.  Jewish  immigration  to  the  United  States,  1881  to  1910,  ab- 
solute numbers  and  percentages,  by  decade  and  country 

of  nativity  162 

IX.  Jewish  immigration  from  Russia,  1881  to  1910,  and  per- 
centage of  total  arriving  each  year 162 

X.  Jewish  immigration  from  Russia,  1881  to  1910,  by  defade 

and  percentage  of  total  arriving  each  decade 163 

XI.  Jewish  immigration  from  Russia  at  the  port  of  New  York, 
January  i,  1891  to  December  31,  1891,  and  January  i, 

1892  to  December  31,  1892,  by  month 163 

XII.  Total  immigration  from  Russia  and  Jewish  immigration 
from  Russia,  1881  to  1910,  and  percentage  Jewish  of 
total  164 

XIII.  Total  immigration  from  Russia  and  Jewish  immigration 

from  Russia,  1881  to  1910,  by  decade  and  percentage 
Jewish  of  total. 164 

XIV.  Immigration  to  the  United  States  from  the  Russian  Em- 

pire, 1899  to  1910,  by  annual  percentage  of  contribu- 
tion of  principal  peoples 165 

XV.  Rate  of  immigration  of  peoples  predominant  in  the  immi- 
gration from  Russia,  1899  to  1910  .  165 

XVI.  Rate  of  Jewish  immigration  from  Russia  per  10,000  of 

Jewish  population,  1899  to  1910 166 


i8 


CONTENTS 


[434 


FACE 

XVII.  Jewish  immigration  from  Roumania,  1881  to  1910,  by 

decade  and  percentage  of  total  arriving  each  decade.    166 
XVIII.  Jewish  immigration  from   Roumania,  1881  to  1910,  and 

percentage  of  total  arriving  each  year    .   .  ...    167 

XIX.  Total  immigration  from  Roumania  and  Jewish  immi- 
gration from  Roumania,  1899  to  1910,  and  percentage 

Jewish  of  total 168 

XX.  Rate  of  Jewish  immigration  from  Roumania  per  10.000 

of  Jewish  population,  1899  to  1910 168 

XXI.  Jewish  immigration  from    Austria  Hungary,    1881    to 
1910,  by  decade  and  percentage  of  total  arriving  each 

decade  ...  169. 

XXII.  Jewish  immigration    from   Austria-Hungary,   1881    to 

1910,  and  percentage  of  total  arriving  each  year  .   .    169 

XXIII.  Total    and  Jewish  immigration  from  Austria-Hungary, 

1881  to    1910,   by  decade   and  percentage  Jewish    of 
total 170 

XXIV.  Total  and  Jewish  immigration  from  Austria-Hungary, 

1881  to  1910,  and  percentage  Jewish  of  total    .    .  170 

XXV.  Percentage  of  annual  immigration  from  Austria-Hun- 
gary contributed  by  principal  peoples,  1899  to  1910  .    171 
XXVI.  Rate  of  Jewish  immigration  from  Austria-Hungary  per 

10,000  of  Jewish  population,  1899  to  1910  .  171 

XXVII.  Jewish  immigration,  1881  to  1910,  by  decade 172 

XXVIII.  Jewish  immigration,  1881  to  1910,  by  six-year  period  .    172 
XXIX.  Jewish  immigration  to  the  United  States,  1881  to  1910  173 
XXX.  Total  immigration  and  Jewish  immigration,  1881  to 

1910,  by  decade  and  percentage  Jewish  of  total  .  174 

XXXI.  Total  immigration  and  Jewish  immigration,  1881  to 

1910,  by  year  and  percentage  Jewish  of  total  ....    174 
XXXII.  Total  and  Jewish  immigration,  1881  to  1910,  by  number 

and  percentage  of  increase  or  decrease 175 

XXXIII.  Sex  of  Jewish  immigrants,  1899  to  1910 176 

XXXIV.  Sex  of  Jewish  immigrant  adults  at  the  port  of  New 

York,  1886  to  1898  176 

XXXV.  Age  of  Jewish  immigrants,  1809  to  1910  ...  •    .  177 

XXXVI.  Age  of  Jewish  immigrants  at  the  port  of  New  York, 

1886  to  1898  ...  177 

XXXVII.  Sex  of  total  and  Jewish  immigrants,  1899  to  1910   .   .  178 

XXXVIII.  Sex  of  European  immigrants,  1899  to  1910  ...  179 

XXXIX.  Age  of  European  immigrants,  1899  to  1909 180 

XL.  Sex,   1899  to  1910,  and  age,  1899  to  1909,  of  Slavic 

immigrants 181 


435] 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


XLlA.  Sex  of  Roumanian  immigrants,  1899  to  1910,  and  of 

immigrants  from  Roumania,  1900  to  IQIO  .  .  181 

XLlB.  Age  of  Jewish  and  Roumanian  immigrants,  1899  to 

1909  ...............  •  .  .....  181 

XLII.  Sex  and  age  of  "  old"  and  "  new  "  immigration  (Jew- 
ish excepted)  and  of  Jewish  immigration,  1899  to 

1909  ............  .    .....     182 

XLIII.  Jewish  immigration  and  emigration,  1908  to  1912.  .    .    .    182 

XLIV.  Total  and  Jewish  emigrant  aliens  and  percentage  Jewish 

immigrant  aliens  of  total  immigrant  aliens,  1908  to  1912  183 
XLV.  European   immigrant   aliens    admitted,    and    European 

emigrant  aliens  departed,  1908,  1909  and  1910  .....    183 

XLVI.  Jewish  immigration  and    emigration,    Russia,   Austria- 

Hungary  and  Roumania,  1908  to  1912  ........    184 

XLVII.  Polish  immigration  and  emigration,  Russia  and  Austria- 

Hungary,  1908  to  1912  .......  .......    184 

XLVIII.  "Old"  and  "new"  (Jewish  excepted)  and  Jewish  im- 

migration and  emigration,  1908  to  1910    .......    185 

XLIX.  European  immigrant  aliens,   1507,  and  European  emi- 

grant aliens,  1908  .........    ........    185 

L.  Total  European  immigrants  admitted  and  total  of  those 
admitted  during  this  period  in  the  United  States  pre- 
viously, 1899  to  1910    .......    .........     186 

LI.  Occupational  distribution  of  Jewish  immigrants,  1899  to 

1910  ........................     186 

LII.  Jewish  immigrants  reporting  occupations,  18^9  to  1910  -    187 

LIII.  Jewish  immigrants  engaged  in  professional  occupations, 

1859  to  1910.   -  ...............     187 

LIV.  Jewish  immigrants  reporting  skilled  occupations,  1899  to 

1910   ......................     188 

LV.  Occupations  of  total  European  and  Jewish  iirmigrants, 

1899  to  1909,  and  percentage  Jewish  of  total  .....    189 

LVI.  Total    European    immigrants   and   immigrants   without 

occupation,  1899  to  1910  .........    ......    189 

LVII.  Occupations  of  European  imm  igrants  reporting  employ- 

ment, 1899  to  1910.  .    .    ............   ...     190 

LVIII.  Occupations  of  Slavic  and  Jewish  immigrants  reporting 

employment,  1899  to  1910  ..............     191 

LIX.  Occupations  of  "old"  and   "new"  immigration  (Jew- 

ish excepted)  and  of  Jewish  im  migration,  1809  to  1509.    191 
LX.  Illiteracy  of  Jewish  immigrants,  1899  to  1910  ......     192 

LXI.  Sex  of  Jewish  immigrant  illiterates,  igc8  to  1512  ....    102 

LXII.  Illiteracy  of  European  immigrants,  1899  to  1910   •    •    •    •     *93 


CONTENTS 


[436 


PAGE 

LXIII.  Illiteracy  of  "old"  and  "new"  immigration  (Jewish 

excepted)  and  of  Jewish  immigration,  1899  to  1509  .    .  194 

LXIV.  Illiteracy  of  peoples  from  Eastern  Europe,  1899  to  1910.  194 

LXV.  Sex  of  illiterates  of  peoples  from  Eastern  Europe,  1908  .  194 
LXVI.  Destination  of  Jewish    immigrants,    1899   to    1910,  by 

principal  divisions 195 

LXVI  I.  Destination  of   Jewish    immigrants,    1899   to    1910,    by 

principal  states 195 

LXVIII.  Percentage  of  Jewish  and  total  immigrants  destined  for 

each  division,  1899  to  1910 196 

LXIX.  Participation  of  Jewish    immigrants    in  destination  of 

total  immigrants,  1899  to  1910,  by  principal  divisions  .  196 

APPENDICES 

A.  President  Harrison's  Message,  1891 199 

B.  Article  VII  of  the  Constitution  of  Roumania 200 

C.  Secretary  Hay's  Note 201 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 207 


CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTION 

THIRTY  years  have  elapsed  since  the  Jews  began  to  enter 
J  the  United  States  in  numbers  sufficiently  large  to  make 
their  immigration  conspicuous  in  the  general  movement  to 
this  country.  A  study  of  Jewish  immigration,  in  itself  and 
in  relation  to  the  general  movement,  reveals  an  interesting 
phase  of  this  historic  and  many-sided  social  phenomenon 
and  throws  light  upon  a  number  of  important  problems  in- 
cident to  it. 

Especially  does  it  become  clear  that  the  Jewish  immigra- 
tion, although  in  part  the  result  of  the  same  forces  as  have 
affected  the  general  immigration  and  the  separate  groups! 
composing  it,  differs,  nevertheless,  in  certain  marked  re- 
spects, from  the  typical  immigration.  Some  of  these  dif- 
ferences indeed  are  fundamental  and  far-reaching  in  their 
effects  and  practically  stamp  the  Jewish  immigration  as  a 
movement  sui  generis. 

Generally  speaking,  in  the  forces  which  are  behind  the 
emigration  of  the  Jews  from  the  countries  of  the  Old  World, 
in  the  character  of  their  immigration — its  movement  and 
its  distinguishing  qualities — the  Jewish  immigration  strikes 
a  distinctly  individual  note. 

Three  European  countries — Russifr,  An. stria -Hungary 
an4  Rourhania==f.urm'sh  the  vast  majority.  oJLlhe.  Jewish 
immigrant  tn  tbp  TTnitpH  fttafps-1  It  is  to  these  countries, 
therefore,  that  we  must  turn  for  light  upon  the  causes  of 
this  movement. 

i  Cf.  infra,  p.  95- 
437]  21 


22  JEW  IS  PI  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES 

Geographically,  these  countries  are  closely  connected; 
they  form  practically  the  whole  of  the  division  of  Eastern 
Europe.  Here  the  Slavonic  races  so  largely  predominate 
that  the  term  Slavonic  Europe  has  been  applied  to  this  sec- 
tion of  Europe. 

Eastern  or  Slavonic  Europe  is  a  social  as  well  as  a  geo- 
graphical fact.  In  racial  stratification,  economic  and 
social  institutions,  cultural  position  and,  in  part,  religious 
traditions  as  well,  these  countries  present  strong  similari- 
ties to  one  another  and  equally  strong  differences  in  most 
of  these  respects  from  the  countries  of  Western  Europe. 

It  is  here  that  the  Jews  are  found  concentrated  in  the 
greatest  numbers.  Nearly  seven  and  a  half-million  Jews 
,J  — more  than~Kalf  of  the  Jews  of  the  world — live  in  these* 
countries.  Of  this  number  more  than  five  millions  are  in 
Russia,  more  than  two  millions  in  Austria-Hungary,  and 
a  quarter  of  a  million  in  Roumania.  The  great  majority 
of  these  are  massed  on  the  contiguous  borders,  in  a  zone 
which  embraces  Poland,  and  Western  Russia,  Galicia,  and 
Moldavia.  This  is  the  emigration  zone.  The  relative  den- 
sity of  the  Jews  is  greatest  in  these  parts.  Every  seventh 
man  in  Poland,  every  ninth  man  in  Western  Russia  and 
in  Galicia,  and  every  tenth  man  in  Moldavia,  is  a  Jew. 
Thus  the  center  of  gravity  of  the  Jewish  populations  is 
still  the  former  kingdom  of  Poland,  as  it  was  constituted 
before  the  partitions  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

United  originally  in  Poland,  the  Jews  of  Eastern  Europe 
still  retain  the  same  general  characteristics,  in  spite  of  the 
changes  that  have  been  brought  about  by  a  century  of  rule 
under  different  governments.  Speaking  a  common  lan- 
guage, Yiddish,  and  possessing  common  religious  tradi- 
tions, as  well  as  similar  social  and  psychological  traits,  the 
East-European  Jews  present  on  the  whole  a  striking  uni- 
formity of  character. 


439] 


INTRODUCTION 


Through  the  centuries  they  have  become  deeply  rooted 
in  the  East-European  soil,  their  economic  and  social  life 
intimately  connected  with  the.  economic  and  social  condi- 
tions of  these  countries  and  their  history  deeply  influ- 
enced by  the  transformations  that  have  been  taking  place 
in  them  for  half  a  century. 

As  these  conditions  and  transformations  furnish  the 
foundation  of  Jewish  life  in  Eastern  Europe,  and  contain 
the  explanation  of  the  situation  that  has  been  largely  re- 
sponsible for  the  recent  Jewish  emigration  to  Western 
Europe  and  the  United  States,  a  rapid  review  of  the  eco- 
nomic, social  and  political  conditions  of  Russia,  Roumania 
and  Austria-Hungary  will  be  made. 


PART   I 
THE  CAUSES  OF  JEWISH  EMIGRATION 


CHAPTER  II 

EASTERN  EUROPE  :  ECONOMIC,  SOCIAL  AND  POLITICAL 
CONDITIONS 

I.    RUSSIA 

THE  difficulty  of  the  average  American  to  understand 
the  character  of  Russian  life,  some  traits  of  which  have 
been  so  vividly  brought  home  to  him  in  recent  years,  may 
be  attributed  to  a  general  idea  that  a  country  rubbing  elbows 
as  it  were  with  Western  civilization  for  several  centuries 
must  perforce  itself  possess  the  characteristics  of  modern 
civilization.  A  closer  survey  of  the  economic,  social  and 
political  conditions  prevailing  in  Russia  to-day,  however, 
reveals  many  points  of  difference  from  those  of  the  coun- 
tries of  Western  Europe,  and  presents  a  remarkable  con- 
trast with  those  prevailing  in  the  United  States.  Russia 
and  the  United  States,  indeed,  stand,  in  Leroy-Beaulieu's 
phrase,  at  the  two  poles  of  modern  civilization.  So  far 
apart  are  they  in  the  character  of  their  economic,  social  and 
political  structures,  in  the  degree  in  which  they  utilize  the 
forms  and  institutions  of  modern  life,  and,  in  the  difference* 
in  the  mental  make-up  of  their  peoples,  that  there  exist  few, 
if  any,  points  of  real  contact. 

Up  to  the  middle  of  the  iQth  century,  Russia  was,  in 
nearly  all  respects,  a  medieval  state.     She  was  a  society, 
which,   in  the  words  of  Kovalevsky,   "  preserved  still  of     / 
feudalism,  not  its  political  spirit  but  its  economic  structure,  V 
serfdom,  monopoly  and  the  privileges  of  the  nobility,  its 
immunities  in  the  matter  of  taxes,  its  exclusive  right  to 
443]  27 


2g  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [444 

landed  property,  and  its  seignorial  rights."  *  Her  modern 
era  dates  from  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs  in  1861,  when 
she  became,  at  least  in  form,  a  European  state.  But,  though 
the  Russia  of  our  day  has  witnessed  great  transformations 
in  the  direction  of  modernization,  she  still  retains  many1, 
of  the  conditions  and  much  of  the  spirit  of  her  medieval! 
past. 

A  rapid  review  of  the  economic,  social  and  political  con- 
ditions of  Russia  will  serve  to  make  clearer  this  situation,, 
which  has  an  important  bearing  upon  the  exceptional  posi- 
tion, legal,  economic,  social,  of  the  Jews  in  the  Empire, 
and  upon  the  fateful  events  of  their  history  for  a  third  of 
a  century. 

The  most  striking  fact  in  the  economic  life  of  present- 
day  Russia  is  that  it  is  overwhelmingly  agricultural.  More 
than  three-fourths  of  her  population  are  engaged  in  some 
form  of  agricultural  labor.  The  vast  majority  are  peas- 
ants living  in  villages.  Towns  are  relatively  few  and 
sparsely  populated.  Agricultural  products  constitute  85 
per  cent  of  the  annual  exports.  What  a  contrast  does  this 
agricultural  state,  this  "  peasant  empire  ",  present  to  the 
industrially  and  commercially  developed  countries  of  West- 
ern Europe  and  the  United  States ! 

The  Russian  peasant  still  practices  a  primitive  system  of 
agriculture.  His  method  of  extensive  cultivation,  the 
three-field  system  in  vogue,  his  primitive  implements,  his 
domestic  economy  of  half  a  century  ago,  with  its  home  pro- 
duction for  home  consumption,  which  is  still  maintained  in 
many  parts  of  Russia  to  this  day — all  these  present  condi- 
tions not  far  removed  from  those  of  the  middle  ages  of 
Western  Europe.2 

1  Kovalevsky,  La  crise  russe  (Paris,  1906),  p.  in. 

2  Cf.  Witte,  Vorlesungen  ilber  Volks-und  Staatswirtschaft  (Stuttgart 
and  Berlin,  1913),  p.  40. 

MilyOukov,  Russia  and  its  Crisis  (University  of  Chicago  Press, 
1905),  p.  439. 


445]  EASTERN  EUROPE  29 

The  existence  to  our  day  of  this  almost  primitive  econ- 
omy finds  its  explanation  in  the  fact  that  serfdom  existed 
in  Russia,  in  all  its  unmitigated  cruelty,  until  comparatively 
recent  times.  Its  abolition  through  the  Emancipation  Act 
of  Alexander  II — antedating  our  own  Emancipation  Proc- 
lamation by  a  few  years — struck  off  the  chains  that  bound 
twenty  millions  of  peasants  to  the  soil.  The  emancipation, 
however,  was  not  complete.  The  land  the  peasants  received 
was  insufficient  for  their  needs.  Other  conditions  co-oper- 
ated in  the  course  of  time  with  this  primary  one,  to  create 
a  situation  of  chronic  starvation  for  the  great  mass  of  the 
Russian  peasants.  Forced  by  the  government  to  pay  heavy 
taxes,  in  addition  to  redemption  dues  for  the  land,  which 
they  paid  until  recently,  and  receiving  little  help  from  either 
government  or  the  nobility  for  the  improvement  of  their 
position,  they  are  virtually  exploited  almost  as  completely 
as  before  the  emancipation. 

Thus,  though  freed  in  person,  the  peasants  are  to  a  great 
extent  bound  by  economic  ties  to  their  former  masters, 
the  nobles.  These  two  social-economic  classes  maintain 
towards  each  other  practically  the  same  relative  position 
held  by  them  before  the  emancipation.  The  manor  still 
controls  the  hut. 

The  former  servile  relations  have  persisted  psychologi- 
cally as  well.  The  Russian  peasant  is  still  largely  a  serf 
in  his  mentality,  in  his  feeling  of  dependence,  in  his  inertia 
and  lack  of  individual  enterprise,  and,  above  all,  in  the 
smallness  of  his  demands  upon  life.1  This  fact  permeates, 
as  it  serves  to  explain,  many  aspects  of  contemporary  Rus- 
sian life. 

The  industrial  and  commercial  stage  of  Russian  economy 
began  with  the  emancipation,  which  set  free  a  great  supply 

1  Cf.  Witte,  op.  tit.,  p.  52. 


3o          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [446 

of  labor.  The  changes  that  have  taken  place  have  never- 
theless not  obliterated  many  of  the  landmarks  of  the  feudal, 
pre-reformation  period.  The  economic  activities  of  the  last 
half-century  present  a  curious  juxtaposition  of  old  and  new, 
medieval  and  modern.  Cottage  and  village  industries  but 
little  removed  from  the  natural  economy  of  the  earlier4 
period  exist  by  the  side  of  great  factories  and  industrial 
establishments  employing  thousands  of  workmen.  Fairs 
and  markets  still  play  a  large  part  in  supplying  the  needs 
of  the  peasants,  rapidly  as  they  are  being  supplanted  by  the 
commercial  activities  of  the  towns.  The  industrial  labor- 
ers, recruited  mainly  from  the  country,  retain  largely  their 
peasant  interests,  relations  and  characteristics.  The  pay- 
ment of  wages  in  kind,  which  is  still  in  vogue  in  many  parts, 
and  the  right  of  inflicting  corporal  punishment  retained  by1 
the  employers,  give  evidence  of  the  strong  impress  of  the 
servile  conditions  of  the  past. 

Vast  changes  have  nevertheless  taken  place  since  the 
emancipation.  Capitalism  has  made  rapid,  if  uneven,  prog- 
ress. Under  the  fostering  care  of  the  government,  indus-t 
try  and  commerce  have  made  immense  strides.  The  fac- 
tory system  has  taken  firm  root  and  has  been  developing 
a  specialized  class  of  industrial  laborers.  Great  industrial 
centers  have  sprung  up;  towns  have  grown  rapidly.  The 
middle  class,  hitherto  insignificant,  has  increased  in  number, 
wealth  and  influence.  Among  the  peasants  as  well,  free- 
dom has  given  birth  to  the  spirit  of  individualism.  The 
differentiation  of  the  peasantry  into  wealthier  peasants  and 
landless  agricultural  laborers,  the  great  mass  of  the  peas- 
antry occupying  the  middle  ground,  and  the  gradual  dis- 
solution of  the  two  great  forces  of  Russian  agricultural  life 
— the  ^patriarchal  family  and  the  village  community — have 
been  the  most  important  results. 
J.  Russia  is  clearly  in  a  state  of  transition  from  the  agri- 


447]  EASTERN  EUROPE  3! 

cultural  or  medieval  to  the  industrial  and  commercial  or 
modern  economic  life.  This  transformation  of  the  eco- 
nomic structure  is  being  effected  under  great  difficulties  and 
the  strong  opposition  of  the  ruling  classes,  whose  privileges 
are  threatened  by  the  new  order  of  things. 

The  Russian  social  and  political  order  reflects  the  medie- 
val background  which  formed  the  setting  for  her  entrance 
upon  the  modern  stage.  The  class  distinctions,  naturally 
obtaining,  are  hardened  into  rigidity  by  the  law,  which  di- 
vides Russian  society  into  a  hierarchy  of  five  classes  or 
orders — the  nobles,  the  clergy,  the  merchants,  the  towns- 
men and  the  peasants — each  with  separate  legal  status, 
rights  and  obligations. 

The  individual  is  thus  not  an  independent  unit,  as  in  the 
legal  codes  of  Western  Europe  or  the  United  States.  Ac- 
companying the  legal  stratification  there  is  an  exceedingly 
strong,  almost  caste-like,  sense  of  difference  between  the 
members  of  the  different  groups. 

This  emphasis  on  the  person  is  characteristic  of  the  medi- 
eval social  order.  In  Russia  it  finds  additional  expression 
in  the  control  of  individual  movement  by  means  of  the  pass- 
port, without  which  document  a  Russian  may  be  said  to 
have  no  legal  existence. 

Even  more  striking  is  the  position  of  the  Russian  Church, 
as  well  as  the  religio-national  conception  which  dominates 
the  Russian  mind  and  according  to  which  orthodoxy  and 
nationality  are  regarded  as  one.  The  Russian  Orthodox 
is  the  only  true  Russian;  all  others  are  foreigners.  In  the 
alliance  of  church  and  state — which  in  Russia  reaches  a 
degree  of  strength  not  attained  in  any  other  European 
state — in  the  complete  control  exercised  by  the  Church  over 
the  lives  of  the  faithful  and  the  clergy,  in  secular  as  in  relig- 
ious matters,  in  its  intolerant  attitude  towards  other  creeds 
and  its  unceasing  attempts  to  suppress  them — it  presents 


32  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [44$ 

characteristics  strongly  reminiscent  of  the  position  of  the 
medieval  church  in  Western  Europe. 

The  one  great  political  fact  of  Russia  has  been  the  autoc- 
racy. The  degree  of  control  which  the  autocratic  Czars  ex- 
ercised unopposed  over  their  subjects  marks  an  important 
difference  between  the  political  development  of  Russia  and 
that  of  the  countries  of  Western  Europe.  At  an  early 
period  the  Czars  had  transformed  the  nobility  into  a  body 
of  state  officials,  thus  at  a  blow  depriving  them  of  any  real 
powers,  apart  from  the  will  of  the  Crown,  and  making  them 
serve  the  interests  of  the  state.  In  this  way  the  nobles,  or 
the  landed  aristocracy,  became  the  main  source  from 
which  the  members  of  the  bureaucracy  were  recruited.  The 
lack  of  a  middle  class  of  any  real  size  and  influence,  which 
could  play  a  part  in  the  demand  for  political  rights,  explains 
in  a  measure  the  strength  of  the  autocratic  powers.1  The 
autocracy  in  turn  has  been  largely  dependent  upon  its  ser- 
vant, the  bureaucracy.  To  such  an  extent  has  the  Russian 
government  been  the  expression  of  the  will  and  interests  of 
this  all-powerful  body  as  to  justify  Leroy-Beaulieu's  desig- 
nation of  Russia  as  the  "  Bureaucratic  State  ". 

Thus  the  autocracy,  the  nobility-bureaucracy  and  the 
-  ,  church  have  been  the  dominating  forces  in  the  economic, 
social  and  political  life  of  Russia. 

In  the  light  of  this  analysis,  the  political  struggles  that 
have  been  so  conspicuous  a  feature  of  Russian  life  during 
the  last  half  of  the  iQth  century  become  an  accompaniment 
as  well  as  an  expression  of  the  progressive  development  of 
Russia  towards  modern  economic,  social  and  political  insti- 
tutions. 

Russian  liberalism, — largely  revolutionary  because  of  the 

I     denial  of  even  elementary  rights,  such  as  the  freedom  of 

^     person,   of  speech,  of  the  press  and  of  meeting, — rights 

1  Cf.  Milyoukov,  op.  cit.,  p.  246  et  seq. 


449]  EASTERN  EUROPE  33 

which  were  secured  to  Englishmen  through  the  Magna 
Charta — has  had  the  serious  task  not  only  of  securing  these 
rights  but  at  the  same  time  of  creating  in  Russia  the  con- 
ditions of  modern  civilization.  For  the  twenty  years  in 
Which  its  spirit  ruled,  during  the  reign  of  Alexander  II,  the 
reforms  begun  under  its  influence  amounted  to  a  veritable  / 
revolution.  The  economic,  social,  political  and  juridical  re-  \J 
forms  of  this  epoch  generated  new  forces  and  began  the 
modernization  of  Russia.  These  reforms  encountered  the 
formidable  opposition  of  the  nobility  and  the  church  and 
finally  of  the  autocracy,  when  the  latter  felt  that  its  position 
was  gradually  being  undermined,  especially  by  the  demand 
for  a  constitution.  With  the  assassination  of  Alexander  II, 
the  liberal  era  was  brought  to  a  close,  and  a  reaction  was 
ushered  in  which  has  lasted  to  our  day. 

The  classes  that  came  into  power  with  Alexander  III  and 
Pobedonostseff  were,  from  their  economic  interests,  social 
outlook  and  political  ideals,  essentially  medieval  and  may 
properly  be  termed  the  feudal  party.  Guided  by  its  eco- 
nomic interests — which  had  been  seriously  threatened  by 
the  emancipation — and  swayed  by  the  Slavophilistic  phil-  y 
osophy,1  this  party  sought  to  nullify  as  far  as  possible  the  y 
reforms  of  the  epoch  of  emancipation  and  to  carry  through 
a  many-sided  program  for  putting  the  order  of  things  back- 
ward to  the  medieval,  pre-reform  days.  Autocracy,  Greek 
Orthodoxy  and  Russian  Nationalism — the  famous  Slavo- 
philistic trinity — were  glorified,  the  first  two  as  peculiarly 
national  institutions,  the  policy  of  russification  and  the  re- 
pression of  non-orthodox  faiths  by  force  were  proclaimed 
as  vital  to  the  social  health  of  Russia,  the  blind  ignorance 
and  illiteracy  of  the  peasants  were  extolled  as  a  virtue  and 
the  control  over  them  by  the  nobility  was  strengthened  in 

1  An  interesting  statement  of  the  principles  of  the  Slavophiles  may  be 
obtained  from  Simkhovitch  (International  Quarterly,  Oct.,  1904). 


J 


34          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [450 

many  ways.  Freedom  of  every  form  was  condemned  as  an 
aping  of  the  "  rotten  "  civilization  of  the  West  with  its  de- 
caying institutions,  and  as  false  to  the  true  Russian  national, 
historical  development. 

During  this  period  of  reaction,  however,  the  liberal  move- 
ment was  kept  alive,  largely  as  revolutionary  propaganda. 
The  earlier  movement  had  been  directed  by  the  educated 
classes,  the  "  Intelligenzia  "  of  Russia.  Lately,  with  the 
growth  of  the  middle  class  and  a  population  of  industrial 
workers  in  the  towns  and  the  factories,  and  a  wealthier  class 
of  peasants,  the  cry  for  reform  has  become  more  insistent, 
and  only  recently  partly  successful  in  results. 

Summarizing  his  impressions  of  Russian  life  and  insti- 
tutions obtained  while  serving  as  Ambassador  to  Russia, 
jr  Andrew  D.  White  remarked  :  "  During  two  centuries  Russia 
has  been  coming  slowly  out  of  the  middle  ages  —  indeed, 


" 


out  of  perhaps  the  most  cruel  phases  of  medieval  life 
One  of  the  phases  of  this  process  has  been  the  bitter 
struggle  between  the  feudal  and  the  modern  forces  that  has 
occupied  Russia  for  the  last  third  of  a  century. 

II.    ROUMANIA 

In  Roumania,2  in  spite  of  a  liberal  constitution  modeled 
upon  the  Belgian,  granting  all  rights  enjoyed  by  citizens  of 
a  free  state,  the  underlying  economic,  social  and,  in  a  meas- 
ure, political  conditions  point  to  a  state  of  things  little  re- 
moved from  the  medieval  forms  of  life.  The  main  social- 
economic  classes  are  the  large  landed  proprietors,  composed 
chiefly  of  the  old  nobility  or  boyars,  and  the  peasants,  who 
were  formerly  serfs.  In  the  hands  of  the  former  are  con- 

1  White,  Autobiography  (New  York,  1905),  vol.  ii,  p.  35. 

2  Owing  to  the  similarity  of  conditions  in   Russia   and  Roumania, 
particularly    as    regards    the    Jews,    Roumania    has    been    considered, 
practically  throughout,  immediately  after  Russia. 


45 1  ]  EASTERN  EUROPE  35 

centrated  the  greater  part  of  the  land.  Five  thousand  large 
landed  proprietors  together  owned  nearly  half  of  the  culti- 
vable land.  Nearly  a  million  of  peasants,  on  the  other  hand, 
comprising  with  their  dependents  a  great  majority  of  the 
population,  together  owned  a  little  over  two-fifths  of  the 
cultivable  land.1 

This  situation  is  an  inheritance  from  the  servile  system 
which  existed  in  Roumania  until  1864,  when  it  was  legally 
abolished.  The  freedom  granted  to  the  peasants  was,  how- 
ever, more  formal  than  real.  The  land  given  them  being 
insufficient  for  their  needs,  and  pasture  land  especially  hav- 
ing been  denied  them,  they  were  as  a  rule  compelled  to  lease 
land  or  pasture  right  from  their  former  masters  at  ruinous 
rates,  often  paying  by  labor  on  their  former  masters'  es- 
tates. Thus  the  essential  feudal  services  were  in  the  main 
continued,  especially  as  the  lease  and  labor  contracts,  gen- 
erally drawn  up  in  the  interests  of  the  landed  proprietor, 
were  often  usurious  and  extremely  oppressive.2  In  twenty 
years  there  was  little  change  from  the  previous  condition 
of  serfdom,  so  that  a  law  was  necessary,  in  1882,  to  permit 
the  peasants  to  work  at  least  two  days  during  the  week  on 
their  own  land. 

Since  this  period  there  has  been  practically  little  change 
in  this  essentially  feudal  relation  of  the  peasantry  to  the 
landed  proprietors.  As  the  owners  of  the  great  estates  are 
a  ruling  power  in  the  political  life  of  the  country,  the 
greater  part  of  peasants  being  disqualified  from  voting 
through  property  and  educational  requirements,  the  former 
have  been  enabled  to  keep  the  peasantry  in  this  condition 

1  Kogalniceancu,  "  Die  Agrarf rage  in  Rumanien  "  Archiv  fur  Sosial- 
wissenschaft  und  Sozialpolitik,  vol.  xxxii,  p.  804. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  184. 

Jorga,  Geschichte  des  Rumdnischen  Volkes  (Gotha,  1905),  vol.  ii, 
P-  374- 


36          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [452 

of  semi-servitude.  The  result  is  a  state  of  ignorance,  mis- 
ery and  degradation  on  the  part  of  the  peasantry  that  is 
difficult  to  parallel  in  another  European  country.  That  the 
peasants  are  not  entirely  passive  under  their  wrongs  is 
shown  in  the  repeated  uprisings  against  their  masters  and 
in  the  two  great  social  revolutions  of  1888  and  1907,  both 
of  which  were  put  down  by  military  force. 

Roumania's  advent  into  industry  and  commerce  may  be 
dated  from  the  eighties  of  the  last  century,  and  was  initiated 
by  the  industrial  law  of  1887,  which  sought  to  create  a 
national  industry  by  means  of  subsidies,  land  grants  and 
other  favors  to  undertakers  of  large  industrial  enterprises. 
Since  then  the  growth  has  been  sufficiently  rapid  to  place 
Roumania  as  the  industrial  and  commercial  leader  of  the 
Balkan  States.  Relatively,  however,  it  is  still  very  back- 
ward. Only  14  per  cent  of  the  population  is  urban.  The 
industrial  laborers  are  estimated  at  no  more  than  40,000. 
There  are  only  a  few  cities.  Only  the  largest — Bucarest — 
has  above  100,000  inhabitants,  three  other  cities  have  be- 
tween  fifty  and  seventy-five  thousand  inhabitants.  The 
chief  industrial  establishments,  such  as  saw  mills,  flour 
mills  and  distilleries,  are  concerned  mainly  in  the  working 
up  of  the  raw  materials  produced  in  the  country.  Neverthe- 
less, industrial  progress  has  made  for  the  growth  of  a  small 
but  influential  middle  class,  which  divides  the  control  of 
affairs  with  the  large  landed  proprietors.  Its  influence  can 
be  traced  in  the  electoral  law,  which  gives  the  urban  classes, 
constituting  the  backbone  of  the  liberal  party,  a  majority 
in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 

III.    AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 

Though  relatively  far  advanced  along  the  road  of  mod- 
ern civilization,  Austria-Hungary,  through  its  prevailing 
mode  of  economic  and  social  life,  and  through  its  large 


453]  EASTERN  EUROPE  37 

Slavic  populations,  belongs  rather  to  Eastern  than  to  West- 
ern Europe.  Historically,  it  began  its  modern  career  about 
the  same  time  as  Russia,  when  it  abolished,  in  1867,  the 
feudal  services  and  dues,  survivals  of  the  previous  servile 
institutions.  Nevertheless,  in  its  large  agricultural  popu- 
lation, in  the  primitive  system  of  cultivation  generally  in 
vogue,  in  the  scattered  character  of  the  peasant  holdings, 
in  the  strong  contrast  between  the  great  landed  estates  or 
Latifundia,  held  chiefly  by  the  nobility,  and  the  small,  even 
minute,  estates  of  the  majority  of  the  peasant  proprietors, 
and  in  the  natural  economy  prevailing  in  many  parts  of  the 
Dual  Monarchy  and  constituting  the  main  foundation  upon 
which  the  life  of  the  peasants  rests — in  all  these  character- 
istics, is  reflected  the  almost  medieval  economy  which  ex- 
isted in  the  empire  before  1848  and  which  is  not  yet  entirely 
outgrown. 

Industrially  and  commercially,  Austria,  far  more  than 
Hungary,  has  indeed  made  really  remarkable  progress.  Yet 
in  this  respect  the  greatest  contrast  exists  between  the  var- 
ious Austrian  provinces.  Certain  of  these — Galicia  and 
Bukowina,  for  instance — are  not  only  the  most  backward 
in  these  pursuits,  but  their  agricultural  population  is  even 
relatively  increasing.  Even  in  the  industrially  advanced 
provinces,  such  as  Lower  Austria  and  Bohemia,  the  transi- 
tional nature  of  the  industrial  life  is  evident  in  the  unspe- 
cialized  character  of  a  larger  portion  of  the  town  laborers, 
many  of  whom  are  peasants  temporarily  employed  in  fac- 
tories and  mines. 

The  Austrian  organization  of  industry  and  commerce  is 
a  modernized  version  of  the  guilds  and  crafts  of  medieval 
Western  Europe.  How  these  medieval  economic  forms 
with  their  underlying  psychologic  forces  still  live  and  domi- 
nate Austria,  especially  its  Slavic  nationalities,  is  shown  by 
the  revival  in  1859  of  the  Austrian  guilds,  the  direct  de- 


38          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [454 

scendants  of  the.  medieval  Innungen.  These  were,  in  1883, 
developed  in  the  form  of  Zwangsgenossenschaften  or  com- 
pulsory trade-guilds,  which,  in  their  regulations  concerning 
the  Befahigungsnachweis  or  certificate  of  capacity,  the  three 
orders  of  master,  journeyman  and  apprentice,  the  principle 
of  compulsory  entrance  into  the  local  guild,  the  workman's 
passport  or  Arbeitsbuch,  unite  the  methods  of  regulating 
and  restricting  industry  and  trade  characteristic  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  with  modern  methods  of  combination,  arbitra- 
tion, and  assistance  of  members.  By  the  side  of  these  com- 
pulsory guilds  are  to  be  found  the  Gewerkschaften,  or  the 
modern  voluntary  trade-unions. 

The  transition  to  modern  economic  and  social  conditions 
is,  nevertheless,  well  advanced.  This  is  seen  in  a  decrease 
of  the  agricultural  classes  and  an  increase  of  the  industrial 
and  commercial  classes  in  the  thirty  years  from  1869  to 
1900.  Another  sign  is  the  fairly  strong  differentiation  of 
the  economic-social  classes,  in  both  the  agricultural  and  the 
industrial  groups,  which  has  advanced  quite  rapidly.  The 
middle  class,  while  neither  as  large  nor  as  influential  as  in 
the  countries  of  Western  Europe,  has  played  an  important 
role  towards  hastening  this  transition. 

Politically,  the  Dual  Monarchy  occupies  a  middle  ground 
between  absolutist  Russia  and  constitutional  England.  The 
court,  the  nobility  and  the  Roman  Church  with  its  strong 
aristocratic  leanings,  represent  the  dominant  power  in  Aus- 
tria. The  economic  and  social  changes  of  the  transitional 
period  have  been  accompanied  by  politico-economic  strug- 
gles which  have  played  a  vital  part  and  have  cut  through 
and  across  the  racial,  national  and  religious  conflicts  of  this 
much-distracted  conglomeration  of  peoples.  Amid  the  con- 
fusion of  parties,  with  their  complexity  of  programs,  may 
be  distinguished  the  German-Austrian  liberals,  representa- 
tives of  the  middle  class  or  industrialists,  whose  historic 


455]  EASTERN  EUROPE  39 

mission  was  to  create  a  modern  state  in  Austria,  and  who 
carried  out,  in  large  measure,  their  program  of  constitu- 
tionalism, economic  freedom  and  the  secular  state.  Against 
them  were  arrayed  the  powerful  forces  of  the  agrarian  party 
or  the  landed  aristocracy — the  upholders  of  the  feudal  eco- 
nomic-social order  of  privilege  and  class  distinction,  the 
clericals — the  upholders  of  the  idea  of  the  Christian  State — 
and  the  representatives  of  the  lower  middle  class,  composed 
chiefly  of  petty  artisans  and  traders,  whose  ideal  was  the 
medieval  industrial  organization,  largely  co-operative  and 
regulated,  as  opposed  to  the  individualistic  and  competitive 
system  of  the  modern  era,  with  its  great  concentration  of 
wealth,  capital  and  power  in  the  hands  of  the  middle  class. 
That  the  present  structure  of  Austria  is  so  much  of  a  com- 
promise and  crosspatch  between  modern  and  medieval  eco- 
nomic, social  and  political  forms,  and  contains  so  much 
that  is  essentially  incongruous,  is  due  largely  to  the  success- 
ful struggle  which  the  chief  parties  of  the  medieval  order 
—the  feudal-clericals — the  party  of  the  upper  classes,  and 
the  Christian  Socialists — the  party  of  the  lower  classes — 
have  waged  against  the  growing  constitutionalization,  in- 
dustrialization and  secularization  of  Austria — in  short, 
against  the  transformation  of  Austria  into  a  modern  state. 
It  is  in  Galicia  that  the  conditions  obtaining  in  Russia  are 
largely  duplicated.  Geographically,  racially  and  socially, 
Galicia  is  a  part  of  Russia.  Galicia  is  a  preponderatingly 
agricultural  land  and  possesses  the  densest  agricultural 
population  in  Europe.  Modern  industry  is  relatively  little 
developed,  its  place  being  held  to  a  great  extent  by  the 
domestic  system  of  industry.  The  contrast  between  the 
large  and  small  estates  is  sharper  here  than  perhaps  in  any 
other  section  of  Europe.  The  Polish  nobility,  in  whose 
hands  the  large  estates  are  mostly  found,  are  the  ruling 
social  and  political,  as  well  as  economic,  power  in  Galicia. 


40          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [456 

The  autonomous  Galician  Diet  is  practically  the  instrument 
of  their  interests.  A  middle  class  has  been  gradually  ris- 
ing and  contesting  their  supremacy.  The  peasantry  is  one 
of  the  most  illiterate,  degraded,  and  oppressed  in  all  Europe. 

IV.    SUMMARY 

This  brief  review  of  the  economic  and  social  conditions 
in  Russia,  Roumania  and  Austria-Hungary  has  shown  that, 
broadly  speaking,  these  countries  present  points  of  simi- 
larity in  their  situation  and  their  recent  movement.  In  all 
of  these  countries,  economic  and  social  conditions  closely 
resembling  those  that  obtained  in  the  countries  of  Western 
Europe  several  centuries  ago  were  found  until  compara- 
tively recent  times.  The  abolition  of  serfdom  in  Russia 
and  in  Roumania,  and  of  feudal  dues  in  Austria-Hungary, 
paved  the  way  for  the  entrance  of  these  states  into  modern 
European  civilization.  The  succeeding  period  has  been 
marked  by  a  rapid  transition  from  the  old  domestic  econ- 
omy to  a  modern  exchange  economy,  through  the  growth 
of  industry  and  commerce.  The  medieval  conditions  of  the 
earlier  period  have  nevertheless  not  been  entirely  obliter- 
ated. They  exist,  in  Russia,  in  the  privileges  and  powers  of 
the  nobility,  in  the  inferior  status  and  oppressed  condition 
of  the  peasantry,  in  the  strong  class  distinctions,  in  the  re- 
straints upon  economic  activity  and  upon  movement. 
Though  in  smaller  measure,  the  same  conditions  are  found 
in  Austria-Hungary,  especially  in  Galicia.  In  Roumania, 
so  far  as  the  peasantry  is  concerned,  the  pre-emanci- 
pation  conditions  remain  practically,  if  not  legally,  in 
force.  Owing  to  the  increase  of  population,  the  minute 
subdivision  of  the  estates  of  the  peasants,  the  back- 
wardness of  their  agricultural  methods,  and  their  over- 
taxation, the  position  of  the  peasants  has  been  rendered 
precarious.  Revolutionary  uprisings  directed  chiefly  against 


457]  EASTERN  EUROPE  4! 

the  landed  proprietors  have  been  a  recurring  expression  of 
their  discontent. 

An  important  consequence  has  been  the  rapid  evolution 
of  the  industrial  and  commercial,  or  the  middle  class. 
The  growth  of  the  middle  class  has  been  accompanied  by  a 
struggle  in  each  of  these  countries  between  the  privileged 
classes  of  the  feudal  state  and  the  middle  class,  includ- 
ing in  the  latter  the  educated  classes  and  the  industrial  work- 
ers of  the  towns. 

It  is  in  this  middle  class  that  the  Jews  are  chiefly  to  be  found. 
Owing  to  this  fact,  as  well  as  through  the  action  of  his- 
torical conditions,  the  Jews  occupy  an  exceptional  position 
in  the  economic  activities  and  the  social  life  of  each  of  the 
countries  of  Eastern  Europe.  A  survey  of  their  economic 
and  social  position  in  each  country  will  serve  to  clarify  the 
last  thirty  years  of  their  history  in  Eastern  Europe  and  to 
give  some  of  the  causes  underlying  their  vast  movement 
from  these  countries  to  Western  Europe  and  particularly 
to  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  JEWS  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE  :  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL 

POSITION 

THE  economic  and  social  life  of  the  Jews  in  Eastern 
Europe  has  moved  along  the  familiar  channels  of  commerce, 
industry  and  urban  life  characteristic  of  the  Jews  in  all 
countries  during  the  middle  ages.  An  examination  of  the 
economic  position  and  function  and  the  principal  social  char- 
acteristics of  the  Jews  reveals  the  fact  that  they  play  an 
important  part  in  each  of  these  countries.  This  we  shall 
see  by  tracing  their  principal  economic  activities  and  some 
significant  phases  of  their  social  life. 

I.    RUSSIA 

A  review  of  the  occupations  of  the  Jews  in  the  Russian 
Empire  shows  that  those  engaged  in  the  manufacturing  and 
mechanical  pursuits  constituted  39  per  cent  of  the  total 
Jewish  population  gainfully  employed.  This  was  the  largest 
occupational  group.  Commerce  engaged  32  per  cent  To- 
gether the  industrial  and  commercial  classes  comprised 
seven-tenths  of  all  Jews  engaged  in  gainful  occupations. 
On  the  other  hand,  only  3  per  cent  were  employed  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits. 

It  is  in  comparison  with  the  occupations  of  the  non- 
Jewish  population  in  Russia  that  the  significance  of  this 
distribution  becomes  evident.  Of  the  non-Jews  in  Russia, 
agricultural  pursuits  engaged  61  per  cent,  manufacturing' 
and  mechanical  pursuits  15  per  cent,  and  commerce  only 
3  per  cent.  The  non-Jews  engaged  in  industry  and  ccm- 
42  [458 


459]  THE  JEWS  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE  43 

merce  thus  constituted  somewhat  less  than  one-fifth  of  the 
total  non- Jewish  population  gainfully  employed.  More 
than  twice  as  many  Jews,  relatively,  as  non-Jews  were  en- 
gaged in  industrial  pursuits  and  practically  twelve  times  as 
many  Jews  as  non-Jews  in  commercial  pursuits.1 

This  difference  of  occupational  grouping  makes  itself  felt 
in  the  participation  of  the  Jews  in  the  principal  occupa- 
tional groups.  Of  the  total  Russian  population  gainfully 
employed,  the  Jews  were  5  per  cent.  They  constituted, 
however,  n  per  cent  of  all  engaged  in  industry,  and  36  per 
cent  of  all  engaged  in  commerce.2  Thus,  in  the  Russian 
Empire  the  Jews  formed  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
commercial  classes  and  a  large  proportion  of  those  engaged 
in  industrial  pursuits. 

Properly  to  gauge  the  economic  function  of  the  Jews 
in  Russia,  comparison  should  be  made  not  with  the  popu- 
lation of  the  Russian  Empire  but  rather  with  that  of 
the  Pale  of  Settlement,  where  nearly  95  per  cent  of  the 
Jews  live.  There  the  contrast  was  even  stronger.  Of  the 
Jews,  70  per  cent  were  employed  in  industry  and  commerce 
as  compared  with  13  per  cent  on  the  part  of  the  non-Jews. 
Though  the  Jews  are  only  12  per  cent  of  the  total  working 
population  of  the  Pale,  they  formed  32  per  cent  of  all  en- 
gaged in  industry  and  77  per  cent  of  all  engaged  in  com- 
merce.3 This  clearly  shows  that  the  Jews  constituted  the 
commercial  classes  and  a  significant  part  of  the  industrial 
classes  of  the  Pale.  In  other  words,  what  is  true  of  the 
place  of  the  Jews  in  the  occupational  distribution  of  all 
Russia  is  still  more  true  of  the  Pale.  The  Jews  are  prepon- 

1  Rubinow,  Economic  Condition  of  the  Jews  in  Russia  (Washington, 
1907),  P-  Soo. 

2  Cf.  table  IA,  p.  158. 

3  Cf.  table  IB,  p.  158. 
Rubinow,  op.  cit.,  p.  501. 


44  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES       [460 

deratingly  industrial  and  commercial,  in  striking  contrast 
to  the  rest  of  the  population,  which  is  preponderatingly  agri- 
cultural. 

What  is  the  nature  of  their  activities  and  their  function 
in  the  industrial  and  commercial  life  of  Russia?  The  great 
majority  of  Jews  engaged  in  manufacturing  and  mechanical 
pursuits  are  artisans.  In  the  present  relatively  backward 
stage  of  Russian  industrial  development  these  are  chiefly 
handicraftsmen,  who  mainly  supply  the  needs  of  local  con- 
sumers. These  artisans,  who  number  more  than  half  a 
million,1  support  nearly  one-third  of  the  Jewish  population. 

The  most  important  industry  is  the  manufacture  of 
clothing  and  wearing  apparel,  which  employed  more 
than  one-third  of  the  Jewish  working  population  and 
supported  more  than  one-seventh  of  the  total  Jewish 
population.  It  is  in  effect  a  Jewish  industry :  prac- 
tically all  the  tailors  and  shoemakers  in  the  Pale  are 
Jews.  They  predominate  as  well  in  the  preparation 
of  food  products,  in  the  building  trades,  in  the  metal, 
wood  and  tobacco  industries.2  Hampered  by  legal  re- 
strictions, lack  of  technical  education,  and  lack  of  capital, 
they  nevertheless  have  become  an  essential  part  of  the  eco- 
nomic life  of  the  Pale,  supplying  the  needs  for  industrial 
products  not  only  of  the  Jews  but  of  the  entire  Pale,  and, 
especially  of  the  peasants. 

In  the  development  of  large-scale  industry,  the  Jews 
have  taken  a  smaller  part  than  the  Germans  or  foreigners, 
owing  to  the  conditions  above  referred  to.  Yet,  in  1898, 
in  the  fifteen  provinces  of  the  Pale,  more  than  one-third 
of  the  factories  were  in  Jewish  hands.3  Jewish  factory 

1  Margolin  puts  the  number  at  600,000. 

2  Ruppin,  Die  Sosialen  Verhaltnisse  der  Juden  in  Russland   (Berlin, 
1906),  p.  59- 

8  Rubinow,  op.  cit.,  p.  537. 


46i]  THE  JEWS  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE  45 

workers  were  estimated  at  one-fifth  of  all  the  factory  work- 
ers in  the  Pale.1 

Trade  and  commerce  engage  Jews  chiefly,  supporting 
nearly  two-thirds  of  the  total  Jewish  population.2 

As  Russia  is  essentially  an  agricultural  country,  trade 
in  agricultural  products,  such  as  grain,  cattle,  furs  and 
hides,  etc.,  is  of  prime  importance.  Nearly  half  of  the 
Jewish  merchants  in  the  Pale  were  dealers  in  these  products. 
Of  the  dealers  in  the  principal  grain  products,  Jews  formed 
an  overwhelming  majority.  Relatively  twenty-six  times  as 
many  Jews  as  Russians,  in  the  Pale,  were  grain  dealers.3 
Four-fifths  of  all  the  dealers  in  furs  and  hides,  three-fourths 
of  all  the  dealers  in  cattle  were  Jews.4  The  Jewish  traders 
are  agents  in  the  movement  of  the  crops,  in  the  various 
stages  from  the  direct  purchase  of  the  grain  from  the  peas- 
ant to  its  export  for  the  world  markets.  In  view  of  the 
lack  of  development  in  Russia  of  modern  methods  fo 
marketing  the  agricultural  produce,  and  in  view  of  the  fa 
that  the  Russian  peasant  is  ignorant  of  the  most  elementa 
principles  of  trade,  the  Jewish  merchants,  with  their  know 
edge  of  the  market  and  their  skillful  use  of  credit,  play 
vital  part  in  the  organization  of  the  Russian  grain  trad^,' 
and  control  this  trade  in  the  Pale  and  on  the  Black  Sea. 

In  other  branches  of  commerce,  the  Jews  are  almost  as 
strongly  represented.  As  sellers  to  the  village  and  city 
populations,  they  carry  on  the  largest  part  of  the  retail 
trade  of  the  Pale.  The  great  majority  of  the  merchants, 
however,  are  petty  traders  or  store-keepers.  The  whole- 
sale merchants  enrolled  in  the  guilds,  on  the  other  hand, 
constitute  a  large  proportion  of  all  the  guild  merchants. 

1  Rubinow,  op.  cit.,  p.  542. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  553- 

3  Ruppin,  op.  cit.,  p.  62. 

4  Rubinow,  op.  cit.,  p.  556. 


46          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [462 

Thus,  through  their  activity  as  petty  artisans,  traders  and 
merchants,  the  Jews  preponderate  in  the  industrial  and 
^commercial  life  of  the  Pale.  As  manufacturers  and  whole- 
sale merchants  they  play  a  less  important  but  nevertheless 
significant  part  in  all  Russia. 

In  general  the  Jewish  merchants  are  quite  strongly  dis- 
tinguished from  the  Russian  merchants  in  their  employment 
of  the  competitive  principles  and  methods  common  to  the 
commercial  operations  of  Western  Europe  and  the  United 
States.  Their  principle  of  a  quick  turnover  with  a  small 
profit,  and  their  use  of  credit,  are  not  in  vogue  among 
the  Russian  merchants  who  operate  on  the  basis  of  cus- 
tomary prices  and  long  credits. 

In  their  social  characteristics  as  well,  the  Jews  are 
strongly  set  off  from  the  rest  of  the  population.  The  Jews 
are  essentially  urban,  the  non-Jews  are  overwhelmingly 
rural.  In  all  Russia,  51  per  cent  of  the  Jews  lived  in  incor- 
"'  porated  towns,  as  against  only  12  per  cent  of  the  non-Jews. 
Though  the  Jews  constituted  4  per  cent  of  the  total  popu- 
lation, they  constituted  16  per  cent  of  the  town  population.1 
In  the  Pale,  where  they  constituted  12  per  cent  of  the  total 
population,  they  comprised  38  per  cent  of  the  urban  popu- 
lation.2 Their  concentration  in  the  cities  of  the  Pale  is 
striking.  In  nine  out  of  the  fifteen  provinces  of  the  Pale, 
they  constituted  a  majority  of  the  urban  population.  In 
twenty-four  towns,  they  were  from  two-fifths  to  seven- 
tenths  of  the  population.  In  the  important  cities  of  War- 
saw and  Odessa  they  were  one-third  of  the  population.3 

The  urban  and  occupational  distribution  of  the  Jews 
places  them  higher  than  the  great  majority  of  the  non-Jews 

1  Ruppin,  op.  cit.,  p.  100. 

2  Rubinow,  op.  cit.,  p.  493. 
8  Ruppin,  op.  cit.,  p.  19. 


463]  THE  JEWS  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE  47 

among  the  social  classes  into  which  the  Russian  people  are 
legally  divided.  Townsmen  are  of  a  higher  rank  than  v 
peasants.  Nearly  95  per  cent  of  the  Jews  belong  to  this 
category  and  only  7  per  cent  of  the  Russians.  The  vast 
majority  of  the  Russians — 86  per  cent — are  peasants.  Only 
4  per  cent  of  the  Jews  are  of  this  class.  Again,  2  per  cent 
of  the  Jews  are  merchants,  as  against  only  .2  per  cent  of 
the  Russians.  Thus  in  these  two  classes  of  townsmen  and 
merchants  there  were  twelve  times  as  many  Jews,  rela- 
tively, as  Russians.1 

The  higher  cultural  standing  of  the  Jews  may  be  partly 
measured  by  the  relative  literacy  of  the  Jews  and  of 
the  total  population.  According  to  the  census  of  1897, 
in  the  Jewish  population  ten  years  of  age  or  over  there 
were  relatively  one  and  a  half  times  as  many  literates  as 
in  the  total  population  of  the  corresponding  group.  In 
each  of  the  age-groups  there  were  relatively  more  liter- 
ates among  the  Jews  than  among  the  total  population. 
In  the  highest  age-group,  that  of  sixty  years  of  age  and 
over,  the  Jews  had  relatively  more  literates  than  any  of  the 
age-groups  of  the  total  population,  indicating  that  the  edu- 
cational standing  of  the  Jews  half  a  century  ago  was  higher 
than  that  of  the  Russian  population  of  to-day.2 

The  fact  that  the  Jews  dwell  chiefly  in  towns  has  consid- 
erably to  do  with  their  higher  educational  standing.  If  the 
statistics  of  relative  literacy  of  the  Jewish  and  the  non- 
Jewish  population  in  the  towns  were  obtainable,  the  chances 
are  strong  that  they  would  not  show  a  much  higher  rate  of 
literacy  on  the  part  of  the  Jews.  At  the  same  time  the  diffi- 
culties that  are  put  in  the  way  of  Jewish  attendance  in  the 

1  Ruppin,  op.  cit.,  p.  65. 

s  Rubinow,  op.  cit.,  pp.  577-578. 


48          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [464 

elementary   schools   must  be   regarded   as   a  considerable 
factor  in  explaining  this  possibility.1 

The  participation  of  the  Jews  in  the  liberal  professions, 
which  implies  the  possession  of  a  higher  education,  is  also 
very  large,  even  with  the  great  obstacles  that  have  been 
placed  in  the  way  of  the  entrance  of  the  Jews  into  the  uni- 
versities, into  the  liberal  professions  and  the  state  service. 
Relatively  seven  times  as  many  Jews  as  Russians  are  found 
in  the  liberal  professions.2 

II.    ROUMANIA 

The  economic  activities  of  the  Jews  in  Roumanian  in- 
dustry and  commerce  closely  resemble  those  of  their  Rus- 
sian brethren.3  The  large  part  taken  by  the  Jews  in  Rou- 
manian commerce  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that,  in 
1904,  one-fifth  of  those  who  paid  the  merchant-license  tax 
were  Jews.  Equally  great  is  their  participation  in  large- 
scale  industry,  where,  as  an  inquiry  in  1901-2  shows,  nearly 
one-fifth  of  the  large  industries  were  conducted  by  Jewish 
entrepreneurs.  In  some  of  the  most  important  ones — the 
glass  industry,  the  clothing  industry,  the  wood  and  furniture 
industry  and  the  textile  industry — from  one-fourth  to  one- 
half  of  the  total  number  of  entrepreneurs  were  Jews. 

As  in  the  case  of  Russia,  it  is  in  Klein-industrie 
or  handicraft,  which  is  more  nearly  characteristic  of  the 

1  In  a  personal  communication  to  the  writer,  Dr.  Rubinow  gives  it 
as  his  opinion  that  the  Jews  as  a  group  consisting  primarily  of  artisans 
and  merchants  will  show  a  very  much  higher  rate  of  literacy  than  a 
group  of  factory  employes,  and,  we  may  add,  of  unskilled  laborers,  to 
which  groups  the  majority  of  the  non-Jews  in  the  towns  belong. 

2  Ruppin,  op.  cit.,  p.  62. 

8  On  the  economic  activities  and  social  characteristics  of  the  Jews 
in  Roumania,  cf.  Ruppin,  Die  Juden  in  Rumanien,  p.  27  et  seq. 


465]  THE  }EWS  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE  49 

present  form  of  Roumanian  industrial  economy,  that 
the  Jews  are  mostly  concentrated  and  where  they  par- 
ticipate so  largely  as  to  constitute  "  the  backbone  of  the 
young  Roumanian  industry  ". 

The  latest  inquiry — that  of  1908 — shows  that  the  Jews 
were  one-fifth  of  all  inscribed  in  the  corporations  as  ar- 
tisans. They  formed  more  than  one-fourth  of  the 
master- workmen  and  nearly  one-sixth  of  the  laborers. 
In  the  five  principal  industries  Jewish  master-workmen 
formed  from  nearly  one-tenth  to  nearly  one-half.  In  the  fol- 
lowing trades  Jews  formed  between  one-fourth  and  nearly 
two-thirds  of  the  entire  workers:  watchmakers,  tinners, 
modistes,  tailors,  glazers,  housepainters,  coopers  and  book- 
binders. In  all  the  garment  industries  nearly  one-third  of 
the  workers  were  Jews.  The  principal  trades  of  the  Jews,  in 
which  two-thirds  of  the  Jewish  industrial  workers  were 
found,  were,  in  order:  tailors,  shoemakers,  tinners,  joiners 
and  planers,  and  bakers.1  The  Jews  in  Roumania  were  thus 
more  strongly  concentrated  in  industry  and  less  in  commerce 
than  their  Russian  brethren. 

As  masters  and  workmen  they  play  a  part  in  Roumanian 
large-scale  and  small-scale  industry  nearly  four  and  a  half 
times  as  large  as  their  proportion  in  the  total  population. 
Their  participation  in  commerce  is  equally  large. 

The  Jews  in  Roumania  present  the  same  social  character- 
istics, relatively  to  the  surrounding  population,  as  the  Jews  in 
Russia.  The  Jews  were  overwhelmingly  concentrated  in  the 
towns.  80  per  cent  of  the  Jews  dwelt  in  the  towns ;  84  per 
cent  of  the  non-Jews  dwelt  in  the  villages.  Of  the  popula- 
tion in  the  department-capitals  the  Jews  constituted  one- 
fifth.  Of  the  population  of  the  other  towns  they  consti- 
tuted more  than  one-tenth.  In  some  of  the  department- 

1  Enqucte  sur  les  artisans  (Bucarest,  1909) ,  P-  J57  et  seQ- 


£0          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [466 

capitals,  notably  Jassi,  the  Jews  were  a  majority  of  the  total 
population.  In  six  other  department-capitals  they  consti- 
tuted from  one-fourth  to  one-half  of  the  population. 

That  the  Jews  are  of  a  higher  educational  standing  than 
the  Roumanians  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  they  possessed  a 
higher  rate  of  literacy,  having  relatively  twice  as  many 
literates  among  the  males  and  nearly  twice  as  many  among 
the  females.  Confining  this  comparison  to  the  cities,  how- 
ever, we  find  that  the  Jews  had  a  higher  literacy  only  in 
the  age-groups  above  fifteen.  The  Roumanian  urban  popu- 
lation between  the  ages  of  seven  and  fifteen  showed  a 
higher  literacy  than  the  corresponding  group  among  the 
Jews,  indicating  the  influence  of  the  special  restrictions  on 
Jewish  education  which  will  later  be  discussed. 

While  the  higher  literacy  of  the  Jews  in  Russia  and  Rou- 
mania  is  due  partly  to  residence  in  towns,  the  restrictions 
-on  the  Jewish  participation  in  the  educational  facilities  af- 
forded by  the  Russian  and  Roumanian  governments  have 
been  so  great  as  to  make  the  higher  educational  standing  of 
the  Jews  practically  a  product  of  their  own  efforts. 

III.    AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 

The  economic  position  of  the  Jews  in  Austria-Hungary 
presents  a  close  parallel  to  that  in  Russia.  The  largest 
proportion  of  the  Jews — 44  per  cent — were  engaged  in 
commerce  and  in  trade,  and  29  per  cent  were  engaged  in  in- 
dustry.1 A  significantly  large  proportion  were  engaged  in 
public  service  and  in  the  liberal  professions.  A  surpris- 
ingly large  proportion — 1 1  per  cent — were  engaged  in  agri- 
culture and  allied  occupations.  Thus,  a  little  over  seven- 
tenths  of  the  Jews  were  concentrated  in  commerce  and 
trade,  and  industry. 

1  Thon,  Die  Juden  in  Oesterreich  (Berlin,  1908),  p.  112. 


467]  THE  JEWS  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE  51 

The  contrast  between  the  Jewish  and  the  non- Jewish 
population  is  most  striking  in  the  relative  proportions  of 
those  engaged  in  agriculture,  and  commerce  and  trade.  54 
per  cent  of  the  non-Jews  were  engaged  in  agriculture,  or 
five  times  as  many,  relatively,  as  Jews.  On  the  other  hand, 
only  8  per  cent  were  engaged  in  commerce  and  trade,  or 
relatively  one-fifth  as  many  as  Jews. 

Of  the  total  population  engaged  in  commerce  and  trade 
the  Jews  constituted  21  per  cent.  They  constituted,  on  the 
other  hand,  5  per  cent  of  all  engaged  in  industry.  Thus, 
the  Jews  in  Austria-Hungary  were  concentrated  in  com- 
merce and  trade  to  a  much  larger  extent  than  in  all  other 
occupations,  constituting  an  important  part  of  all  engaged 
in  this  branch. 

It  is  in  Galicia,  however,  where  conditions  in  general 
most  resemble  those  in  Russia,  that  the  Jews  are  seen  to 
occupy  relatively  the  same  position  as  their  brethren  in  Rus- 
sia. In  Galicia,  29  per  cent  of  the  Jews  were  engaged  in 
commerce  and  trade,  and  26  per  cent  in  industry.  Together 
the  Jews  engaged  in  these  two  branches  constituted  more 
than  half  of  the  total  Jewish  working  population. 

By  far  the  largest  part  of  the  non- Jewish  population — 
86  per  cent — were  engaged  in  agriculture.  In  industry  only 
4  per  cent  of  the  non-Jews  were  engaged  and  in  commerce 
only  i  per  cent.  Thus  the  Jews  were  largely  concentrated 
in  commerce  and  industry,  the  non-Jews  preponderatingly 
concentrated  in  agriculture. 

As  compared  with  the  Jews  in  Russia  and  Roumania  the 
Galician  Jews  engaged  in  agriculture  show  a  surprising  pro- 
portion— 1 8  per  cent  being  so  engaged — a  larger  proportion 
than  in  any  other  country. 

The  Jews  in  East  Galicia  were  13  per  cent  of  the  total 


52          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [468 

population.1  Of  all  the  "  independents  "  engaged  in  com- 
merce in  East  Galicia  92  per  cent  were  Jews;  of  all  the 
"  independents  "  engaged  in  industry  48  per  cent  were  Jews. 
The  Jews  in  West  Galicia  were  8  per  cent  of  the  total  popu- 
lation. Of  all  "  independents  "  engaged  in  commerce  they 
constituted  82  per  cent;  of  all  "  independents  "  engaged  in 
industry  they  constituted  33  per  cent.  This  gives  the  crux 
of  the  economic  position  of  the  Jews  in  Galicia.  They  play 
an  overwhelming  part  in  its  commercial  life,  practically 
monopolizing  it.  In  industry  their  participation  is  very 
significant. 

Socially  the  Jews  in  Austria-Hungary  and  especially 
in  Galicia,  present  characteristics  similar  to  those  in 
Russia  and  Roumania.  In  the  forty  cities  in  Galicia 
with  a  population  above  five  thousand  there  dwelt  34 
per  cent  of  the  total  Jewish  population.  Only  7  per 
cent  of  the  non-Jewish  population  lived  in  these  cities. 
Thus,  relatively  five  times  as  many  Jews  as  non-Jews 
were  urban.  Though  the  Jews  in  Galicia  were  n  per 
cent  of  the  total  population,  they  constituted  37  per  cent 
of  the  population  in  these  cities,  thus  being  represented 
in  the  cities  by  more  than  three  times  their  proportion  in 
the  total  population.  In  nine  of  these  towns  they  formed  a 
majority  of  the  population.  They  were  more  than  one- 
third  in  twelve,  and  more  than  one-fourth  in  eleven  other 
towns.  In  the  two  chief  cities  in  Galicia — Lemberg  and 
Cracow — they  constituted  a  third  of  the  total  population. 

The  figures  regarding  literacy  are  not  available  for 
Austria-Hungary  or  Galicia,  but  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  essentially  the  same  situation  exists  as  in  Rus- 
sia and  Roumania.  In  the  liberal  professions  in  Austria- 
Hungary  there  were  16  per  cent  of  the  Jews  so  engaged  as 

1  Thon,  op.  cit.,  p.  124. 


469]  THE  JEWS  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE  53 

compared  with  n  per  cent  of  the  non-Jews.  In  Galicia 
the  contrast  is  much  sharper.  Relatively  ten  times  as  many 
Jews  as  non-Jews  were  represented  in  the  liberal  profes- 


IV.    SUMMARY 

A  review  of  the  occupations,  economic  function  and  social 
characteristics  of  the  Jews  in  the  countries  of  Eastern 
Europe  reveals  them  in  an  important  and  essentially  similar 
role  in  each  country.  Pursuing  mainly  industrial  and  com- 
mercial occupations,  the  Jews  constitute  by  far  the  largest 
part  of  the  middle  classes  of  each  country.  The  historical 
position  which  they  held  in  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Poland 
as  the  middle  class  has  been  practically  maintained  to  this 
day. 

By  virtue  of  their  occupations,  the  Jews  are  possessed 
of  liquid  wealth  to  a  greater  extent  than  the  nobility  or  the 
peasantry,  and  in  the  lack  of  proper  credit  facilities  still 
serve  as  bankers  and  money-lenders.  The  Jews  have  also 
been  conspicuous  in  Eastern  Europe  as  stewards  or  admin- 
istrators of  the  estates  of  the  nobility,  who  are,  as  a  rule, 
absentee  landlords,  distinguished  as  a  class  by  their  serious 
lack  of  interest  or  ability  in  the  management  of  their  es- 
tates. The  Jewish  Hofjiiden,  as  they  were  known,  were 
particularly  useful  in  the  utilization  of  the  products  of  the 
soil,  through  distilleries,  mills,  trade  with  agricultural 
products  and  exploitation  of  the  forests.2  In  this  way, 
however,  Jews  often  acted  as  intermediaries  in  the  oppres- 
sion of  the  peasantry  by  the  nobles.  They  were  often  keep- 
ers or  lessees  of  the  taverns,  the  ownership  of  which  was 
formerly  vested  in  the  nobles  as  one  of  their  feudal  privi- 
leges. 

It  is,  however,  as  artisans,  industrial  laborers  and  mer- 

1  Thon,  op.  cit.,  p.  127. 

2Grenzboten:  Galisische  Wirtschaft,  vol.  Ixii,  p.  402. 


54          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [470 

chants,  retail  and  wholesale,  that  Jews  chiefly  obtain  their 
living.  Their  monopoly  of  industry  and  commerce  has 
given  them  an  influence  far  above  their  numerical  propor- 
tions. 

In  each  of  these  countries,  again,  the  Jews  are  essentially 
town  dwellers  in  the  midst  of  preponderatingly  rural  popu- 
lations. That  the  degree  of  the  contrast  is  due  to  the  arti- 
ficial workings  of  restrictive  laws  is  unquestioned.  The 
chief  reason  for  this,  however,  is  occupational.  The  Jews 
as  an  industrial  and  commercial  people  constitute  one  of  the 
main  elements  out  of  which  the  town  populations  are  re- 
cruited. Towns  are  ordinarily  the  foci  of  all  the  cultural 
forces  and  the  movement  and  enterprise  of  a  country.  In 
Eastern  Europe,  where  the  number  of  towns  is  so  few,  this 
is  much  more  the  case  than  in  Western  Europe.  The  fact) 
that  the  Jews  are  so  largely  concentrated  in  these  compara- 
tively few  towns  serves  to  give  them  a  cultural  position  and 
influence  far  out  of  proportion  to  their  numbers.  Their  eco- 
nomic activities  and  their  relatively  large  participation  in 
the  liberal  professions  strengthens  this  position  considerably. 

Amidst  populations  preponderatingly  devoted  to  agricul- 
tural occupations  and  dwelling  in  villages,  the  Jews  repre- 
sent an  industrial  and  commercial  people,  strongly  concen- 
trated in  towns.  This  economic  and  social  position  of  the 
Jews  is  of  the  greatest  significance,  especially  in  the  present 
period  of  transition  in  these  countries.  Possessed  of  the 
characteristics  of  a  modern  people  in  their  economic  and 
social  life  and  in  their  mentality,  they  present  a  sharp  con- 
trast with  the  peoples  among  whom  they  dwell  and  whose 
economic  and  social  life  are  only  now  taking  on  modern 
forms.  It  is  this  that  makes  the  Jews  personify  in  a  large 
degree  the  forces  of  economic  enterprise  and  of  social 
progress  in  these  countries. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  exceptional  economic  and  social 


THE  JEWS  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE  55 

position  held  by  the  Jews  among  the  East-European  peo- 
ples has  made  them  peculiarly  susceptible  to  the  changes 
that  have  been  taking  place,  as  their  inferior  legal  status 
and  sharp  differentiation  from  the  mass  of  the  people  have 
made  them  favorable  objects  of  attack  in  the  politico-eco- 
nomic struggles  that  have  largely  accompanied  the  transi- 
tion. 

A  consideration  of  the  legal  status  of  the  Jews  in  each 
of  the  countries  of  Eastern  Europe  and  of  the  chief  forces 
that  have  ruled  their  history  for  more  than  a  third  of  a  cen- 
tury will  enable  us  to  see  some  of  the  dynamic  aspects  of 
the  recent  history  of  the  East-European  Jews  and  the  un- 
derlying causes  o£  their  recent  emigration. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE 

i.  RUSSIA 

RELIGIOUS  intolerance  had  been  the  prime  motive  of  Rus- 
sia's policy  of  completely  excluding  the  Jews  from  her 
borders.  Through  the  partitions  of  Poland  from  1772  to 
1795,  she  became  the  unwilling  ruler  over  the  destinies  of 
millions  of  Jews  living  in  Lithuania,  Western  and  South- 
western Russia  and  Poland  proper.  The  historic  medie- 
val principle  by  which  the  Jews  were  regarded  as  an  alien 
and  heretic  race  living  among  the  Christian  peoples — a  prin- 
ciple that  had,  with  the  growth  of  modern  ideas,  been 
rapidly  losing  its  hold  upon  the  West-European  nations- 
expressed  Russia's  attitude  towards  the  Jews  and  con- 
formed to  her  strongly  medieval  outlook  and  organization 
of  this  period.  Thus,  at  the  time  when  the  emancipation  of 
the  Jews  had  begun  to  be  in  Western  Europe  a  concomitant 
of  social  progress,  Russia  set  to  work  to  recreate  almost 
typically  medieval  conditions  for  a  vaster  Jewish  population 
than  had  ever  before  been  assembled  in  any  European 
country. 

The   Jews   were  placed   in  the  position   practically   of 

aliens,  whose  activities  were  regulated  by  special  laws.    The 

'   first  and  the  most  far-reaching  of  these  laws  limited  their 

right  of  residence  to  those  provinces  in  which  they  lived  at 

the  time  of  the  Polish  partitions.     In  this  way  originated! 

that  reproduction  on  a  vast  scale  of  the  medieval  Ghetto— 

56  [472 


473]  THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY  57 

the  Pale  of  Jewish  Settlement.  The  elementary  right  of 
free  movement  and  choice  of  residence,  which  was  denied 
to  the  Jews,  has  remained  the  principal  restriction  to  which 
they  are  subjected. 

The  Pale  of  Jewish  Settlement,  continued  with  but  few 
changes  to  our  day,  includes  the  fifteen  provinces  of  West- 
ern and  Southwestern  Russia — Vilna,  Kovno,  Grodno, 
Minsk,  Vitebsk,  Mohileff,  Volhynia,  Podolia,  Kiev  (except 
the  city  of  Kiev),  Chernigov,  Poltava,  Bessarabia,  Kher- 
son, Jekaterinoslav,  Taurida  (except  the  city  of  Yalta),  and 
the  ten  provinces  into  which  Poland  is  divided — Warsaw, 
Kalisz,  Kielce,  Lomza,  Lublin,  Petrikow,  Plock,  Radom, 
Suvalk  and  Siedlec.  From  the  rest  of  the  eighty-nine  pro- 
vinces and  territories — constituting  nearly  95  per  cent  of 
the  total  territory  of  the  Russian  Empire — the  Jews  were 
excluded. 

In  the  course  of  a  century  the  special  laws  relating  to  the 
Jews  have  multiplied  greatly  until  they  now  consist  of 
more  than  a  thousand  articles,  regulating  their  religious 
and  communal  life,  economic  activities  and  occupations, 
military  service,  property  rights,  education,  etc.,  and  mv 
posing  special  taxes  over  and  above  those  borne  by  all 
other  Russian  subjects.  The  direct  consequence  of  these 
laws  was  to  mark  the  status  of  the  Jews  as  the  lowest  in  the 
Empire,  placing  them  in  the  position  of  aliens  as  to  rights 
and  citizens  as  to  obligations.1 

The  policy  of  the  Russian  government  throughout  the 
iQth  century  has  been  full  of  contrasts  and  contradictions. 
Attempts  at  forcible  russification  and  assimilation,  which 
with  Nicholas  I  practically  spelled  conversion,  have  alter- 
nated with  methods  of  repression  which  sought  to  prevent 

1  Leroy-Beaulieu,  The  Empire  of  the  Tsars  (New  York,  1894),  vol. 
Hi,  p.  558. 


5g          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [474 

closer  contact  between  the  Jewish  and  the  native  popula- 
tions. 

It  was  the  liberal  epoch  of  Alexander  II  that  gave  the 
first  real  promise  of  emancipation  to  Russian  Jewry.  The 
great  reforms  of  this  era  benefited  the  Jews  along  with  the 
other  subjects  of  the  Empire.  With  the  influence  of  the 
liberals  over  the  government  there  came  a  new  attitude  re- 
garding the  Jews  and  their  value  as  economic  and  cultural 
forces.  Partly  to  relieve  the  intense  competition  in  the 
Pale,  harmful  both  to  the  Christian  and  the  Jewish  popu- 
lations, but  chiefly  to  give  the  provinces  of  interior  Russia 
the  benefit  of  the  superior  industrial  and  commercial,  and 
professional  abilities  of  the  Jews,  laws  were  enacted  allow- 
ing certain  classes  of  Jews  to  live  outside  of  the  Pale. 
These  were,  chiefly,  master-artisans,  merchants  of  the  first 
guild,  students  and  graduates  of  universities  and  higher 
educational  institutions,  and  members  of  the  liberal  pro- 
fessions. 

With  these  laws  and  with  the  opening  of  the  high  schools 
and  universities  to  the  Jews,  the  movement  for  Russianiza- 
tion  received  a  mighty  impetus.  Though  these  reforms, 
hedged  about  and  limited  by  onerous  conditions,  affected 
comparatively  few  and  hardly  touched  the  life  of  the  Jewish 
masses  in  a  radical  way,  nevertheless,  the  impulse  which 
even  these  relatively  slight  reforms  gave  to  the  current  of 
Jewish  life  in  Russia  was  far  out  of  proportion  to  the  re- 
lief they  afforded.  Jewish  hopes  for  a  final  emancipation 
soared  high :  it  seemed  as  if  the  walls  of  the  Pale  needed 
but  little  more  to  be  broken  down. 

The  reaction  that  followed  the  assassination  of  Alex- 

;   ander  II  fell  upon  the  Jews  as  a  national  calamity.    To  the 

feudal  party  which  now  came  into  control,  the  Jews  seemed 

the  very  embodiment  of  the  forces  in  the  Empire  whose 

/    progress  they  were  seeking  to  stem.     No  other  nationality 


475]  THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY 

in  the  Russian  Empire  concentrated  in  itself  so  many  char- 
acteristics and  tendencies  opposed  to  the  ideals  and  inter- 
ests of  the  Russian  ruling  classes.     To  the  Church,  domi- 
nated by  a  religio-national  point  of  view,  they  were  the  very 
opposite  of  her  ideal  type  of  Russian  orthodox,  their  very 
existence  in  Russia  being  regarded  as  an  anomaly  and  as  an 
actual  and  possible  influence  in  disintegrating  the  religious 
faith  of  the  orthodox  peasants.     To  the  nationalists  they 
were  an  alien  people  racially  and  religiously,  whose  assimi- 
lation with  the  Russian  people  was  neither  possible  nor  de-  ' 
sirable.     To  the  autocracy  and  the  bureaucracy  there  was       s 
the  added  fear  from  their  intellectual  superiority  and  their  V 
zeal  for  education  of  their  playing  a  powerful  part  among 
the  liberal  forces  seeking  political   freedom.     Indeed,  the 
Jews,  whose  economic  and  cultural  activities  and  interests 
bound  them  closely  to  Western  Europe  and  were  in  them- 
selves modernizing  and  liberalizing  influences,  growing  all 
the  stronger  through  the  greater  freedom  offered  them  dur- 
ing the  liberal  epoch,  excited  the  deep  repugnance  of  the 
feudal  forces  now  directing  the  destinies  of  the  state.     To» 
them  the  Jews  spelled  anathema.     Separated  from  the  great 
masses  of  the  Russian  people  by  race,  nationality,  religion,     is 
occupations  and  other  social  and  psychological  characteris-  \JJ 
tics,  they  offered  an  unusually  favorable  object  of  attack.     * 

It  soon  became  clear  that  the  new  regime  had  determined 
upon  making  the  Jews  a  central  feature  in  their  policy  of 
reaction.  At  once  a  many-sided  campaign  against  the  Jews 
was  begun.  A  powerful  machinery  of  persecution  was  at 
hand  in  the  existing  Jewish  laws.  All  that  was  necessary 
was  to  revive  them,  to  interpret  them  rigorously,  to  tighten 
the  legislative  screws  which  had  become  loosened  during  the 
preceding  liberal  regime.  This,  however,  seemed  insuffi- 
cient. It  was  determined  that  a  powerful  and  definitive 


(6p)        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [476 

blow  must  be  struck  at  the  roots  of  their  very  existence  in 
Russia. 

.  The  main  attack  was  economic.  The  industrial  and  com- 
Vmercial  activities  of  the  Jews,  especially  in  the  Pale, 
make  them,  as  we  have  seen,  among  the  chief  industrial 
producers  for  the  peasants,  as  well  as  the  chief  buyers  of 
their  agricultural  produce.  This  contact  between  the  Jews 
and  the  peasants  was  a  vital  need  in  the  economic  life  of 
both.  The  familiar  charge  that  the  Jews  were  exploiters  of 
the  peasantry  was  revived.  Behind  this  charge  lay  the  medie- 
val economic  prejudice,  which  attributes  no  really  useful 
role  to  the  merchant  or  trader.1  In  a  custom-ridden  eco- 
nomic order,  the  competitive  methods  of  the  Jewish  traders 
smacked  of  commercial  deceit.  Principally,  however,  this 
charge  served  for  a  convenient  explanation  of  the  change  of 
policy  towards  the  Jews. 

In  this  wise  were  introduced  the  "  Temporary  Regula- 
tions "  of  May,  1882,  or  the  May  Laws,  the  main  clauses 
of  which  are  the  following : 

1.  As  a  temporary  measure  and  until  a  general  revision  is 
made  of  the  legal  status  of  the  Jews,  they  are  forbidden  to 
settle  anew  outside  of  towns  and  townlets  (boroughs),  an  ex- 
ception being  made  only  in  the  case  of  existing  Jewish  agri- 
cultural colonies. 

2.  Until  further  orders,  the  execution  of  deeds  of  sale  and 
mortgage  in  the  names  of  Jews  is  forbidden,  as  well  as  the 
registration  of  Jews  as  lessees  of  real  estate  situated  outside 
of  towns  and  townlets,  and  also  the  issuing  to  Jews  of  powers 
of  stewardship  or  attorney  to  manage  and  dispose  of  such  real 
property. 

1  For  an  example  of  typically  medieval  economic  notions  regarding 
trade  and  commerce  prevalent  among  the  feudal  classes  of  Eastern 
Europe,  cf.  Carmen  Sylva's  criticism  on  the  economic  activities  of 
the  Jews  in  Roumania  in  Century,  March,  1906. 


477]  THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY  6l 

The  May  Laws  may  be  regarded  as  an  extension  of  the 
general  principle  underlying  the  creation  of  the  Pale. 
Through  the  first  clause  they  were  now  to  be  forbidden 
free  movement  even  within  the  Pale.  As  far  as  possible, 
their  contact  with  the  peasantry  was  to  be  cut  off.  The 
second  clause  aimed  to  put  an  end  to  the  ownership  by  Jews 
of  land  in  rural  districts  and  the  employment  of  Jews  as 
stewards  or  managers  of  estates.  A  further  construction 
of  this  clause  forbade  Jews  to  be  connected  with  any  busi- 
ness directly  or  indirectly  depending  upon  the  purchase  of 
landed  property  outside  of  the  towns  of  the  Pale,  thus  de- 
barring them  from  the  utilization  of  land  for  industrial 
and  commercial,  as  well  as  for  agricultural  purposes. 

In  the  actual  execution  of  these  laws,  and  in  the  legal 
interpretations  given  them  by  the  highest  courts,  the  effect 
was  far  greater.  A  series  of  wholesale  expulsions  from  the 
villages  into  the  towns  of  the  Pale  began,  on  the  ground 
of  illegal  residence.  This  was  increased  by  the  device, 
which  became  normal,  of  renaming  towns  as  villages — 
easily  possible  in  Russia  where  towns  are  frequently  only 
administrative  units — the  resident  Jews  then  being  expelled 
as  illegal  settlers.  Again,  movement  within  the  villages 
even  on  the  part  of  Jews  who  had  the  right  to  live  in  vil- 
lages was  prohibited. 

A  further  effect  of  this  change  in  policy  was  upon  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Jews  outside  of  the  Pale,  who  enjoyed  the  right 
of  residence  in  the  interior  of  Russia,  through  the  laws  of 
the  preceding  regime.  A  stricter  interpretation  of  these 
laws,  added  to  a  change  in  the  administrative  policy,  had 
the  effect  not  only  of  stopping  the  comparatively  slight 
current  of  Jewish  artisans  into  the  interior  of  Russia,  but 
also  of  starting  a  never-ending  series  of  expulsions  from 
the  interior  to  the  Pale.  These  expulsions  have  since  con- 
tinued, with  individuals,  families  and  whole  groups,  until 


/ 


62  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [478 

they  have  become  a  constant  phenomenon  of  Jewish  life  in 
Russia  and  a  familiar  item  of  world  news. 

While  the  May  Laws  thus  touched  to  the  quick  the  eco- 
nomic life  of  the  Russian  Jews,  another  series  of  laws 
sought  to  break  down  their  cultural  life  by  barring  them 
from  the  higher  educational  and  professional  institutions. 
The  contrast  with  the  policy  of  the  preceding  regime  was 
here  as  complete  as  possible.  The  principle  of  liberal  assim- 
ilation with  regard  to  the  Jews  had  dictated  the  policy  of 
opening  wide  to  them  the  doors  of  the  secondary  schools 
and  universities,  and  the  liberal  professions.  The  new 
regime,  however,  not  only  opposed  education  generally,  and 
higher  education  particularly,  as  the  means  by  which  the 
reform  and  westernization  of  Russia  was  being  accom- 
plished, but  it  regarded  the  russification  of  the  Jews  as  a 
special  evil.  Culturally  as  well,  the  Jews  were  to  be  separ- 
ated from  the  Russian  people. 

Hence  the  introduction  of  the  "  percentage  rule  "  in  1886 
and  1887,  restricting  the  proportion  of  Jewish  students  ad- 
mitted to  the  secondary  and  high  schools,  and  universities, 
within  the  Pale,  to  10  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  stu- 
dents admitted.  Outside  of  the  Pale,  the  proportion  was 
5  per  cent,  except  in  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  where  it 
was  placed  at  3  per  cent.  In  addition,  the  Jews  were  com- 
pletely barred  from  a  number  of  these  institutions.  As  the 
Jews  constituted  so  large  a  part  of  the  populations  in  the 
towns  of  the  Pale  and  had  distinguished  themselves  in 
Russia  as  elsewhere  by  the  eagerness  with  which  they 
grasped  the  educational  and  professional  opportunities  of- 
fered them,  the  introduction  of  the  "  percentage  rule " 
meant  that  the  vast  majority  of  the  Jewish  youth  were 
to  be  deprived  of  the  normal  chances  for  education.  Thus 
the  "  percentage  rule  ",  which  was  extended  to  institutions 
founded  by  the  Jews  themselves,  was  almost  as  great  a  blow 


479]  THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY  63 

as  the  May  Laws.  It  threatened  the  cultural  ruin  of  Rus- 
sian Jewry.  Bound  up  as  the  admission  to  these  schools 
was  with  the  liberal  professions  and  with  the  opportunity 
of  escaping  from  the  limits  of  the  Pale,  it  meant  that  one 
of  the  main  highways  to  freedom  in  Russia  had  been  closed  /' 
to  the  Jews.  * 

The  most  striking  method  of  repression  introduced  by 
the  new  regime  and  its  feudal  supporters  was  that  combina- 
tion of  murder,  outrage  and  pillage — the  pogrom.  The 
revival  of  this  characteristic  expression  of  the  antisemitism 
of  the  middle  ages  was  not  the  result  of  spontaneous  out- 
breaks of  fury  on  the  part  of  the  Russian  masses,  but  a 
deliberate  and  calculated  awakening  of  latent  racial  and 
religious  prejudices,  evoked  as  powerful  aids  to  inflame 
against  the  Jews  the  Russian  masses,  who  are,  religiously 
speaking,  a  tolerant  people  and  whose  relations  to  the  Jews 
had  been  marked,  on  the  whole,  with  friendliness. 

The  first  pogroms  began  a  month  after  the  accession  of 
Alexander  III  to  the  throne,  and  extended  in  the  course  of 
a  year  to  160  places  in  Southern  Russia.  Though  the  con- 
nivance of  the  local  authorities  was  clearly  established,  the 
originators  of  the  pogroms  were  never  found.1  However, 
moral  support  was  lent  by  the  government  in  the  promul- 
gation of  the  May  Laws  which  closely  followed.  Thejioc- 
trine  that  the  misery  of  the  peasants  was  due  to  their  ex- 
ploitation by  the  Jews,  and  that  the  pogroms  were  the 
instinctive  expression  of  the  fury  of  the  peasants,  was 
officially  sanctioned.  The  pogroms  of  1881-2  served  as 
notice  "to  all  Russia  and  particularly  to  Russian  Jewry,  that 
the  old  order  had  given  place  to  the  new.  Apart  from  the 
loss  of  life  and  damage  to  property  they  left  the  Russian 

1  The  part  played  by  the  authorities  in  these  pogroms  is  discussed 
by  A.  Linden  in  Die  Judenpogromen,  vol.  i,  pp.  12-96. 


64          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [480 

Jews  in  a  state  of  stupefaction  and  horror,  with  the  sense  of 
living  on  the  brink  of  a  precipice. 

The  first  decade  of  Alexander  Ill's  reign  had  opened 
with  these  pogroms.  The  second  decade  opened  with  the 
wholesale  expulsions  from  Moscow.  Within  six  months, 
more  than  ten  thousand  Jews  were  expelled  from  the  city 
on  the  ground  of  illegal  residence.  So  vast  a  number  of 
Jewish  families  was  affected  and  so  summary  was  the 
manner  of  executing  the  decree  of  expulsion,  that  several 
governments,  among  them  our  own,  protested  to  the  Rus- 
sian government.  President  Harrison,  discussing  this  pro- 
test in  his  message  to  Congress,  frankly  stated  that 

the  banishment,  whether  by  direct  decree  or  by  not  less  certain 
indirect  methods,  of  so  large  a  number  of  men  and  women  is 
not  a  local  question.  A  decree  to  leave  one  country  is  in  the 
nature  of  things  an  order  to  enter  another — some  other.  This 
consideration,  as  well  as  the  suggestion  of  humanity,  furnishes 
ample  ground  for  the  remonstrances  which  we  have  presented 
to  Russia.1 

The  expulsions  were  preceded  by  a  year  of  ominous 
rumors  of  a  program  of  new  restrictions  beside  which 
the  May  Laws  would  pale  into  insignificance.  An  offer  of 
ten  million  dollars  for  the  cause  of  Jewish  education  made 
by  Baron  de  Hirsch  to  the  Russian  government  was  re- 
fused. His  scheme,  however,  for  the  organization  of  a 
mass-emigration  of  Jews  to  Argentine  was  sanctioned.  All 
these  facts  lent  strength  to  the  feeling  of  the  Jews  that  they 
had  nothing  to  hope  for  under  the  existing  regime.  Thus 
closed  the  reign  of  Alexander  III  and  a  memorable  chapter 
in  Russian  Jewish  history. 

The  early  years  of  Nicholas  II  were  marked  by  a  relax- 

1  President  Harrison's  Message  is  given  in  Appendix  A,  page  199. 


481]  THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY  65 

ation  in  the  strict  administration  and  interpretation  of  the 
existing  restrictive  laws.  Hopes  for  the  amelioration  of 
the  Jewish  situation  began  to  be  entertained.  These  hopes 
were  destined  shortly  to  be  shattered. 

The  first  decade  of  the  twentieth  century  opened  with 
threatening  unrest.  Economic  depression  began  and  was 
accompanied  by  revolutionary  attacks.  For  the  Jews,  the 
most  alarming  symptom  was  the  rise  and  uninterrupted 
progress  of  a  group  of  antisemitic  agitators  and  Russian 
loyalists,  who  sought  to  counteract  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment by  denouncing  the  Jews  as  the  leaders  of  the  revolu- 
tion and  the  enemies  of  the  autocracy  and  the  Orthodox: 
religion.  Thus  was  sown  the  seed  of  the  Kishineff  massacre 
of  April,  1903,  which  lasted  three  days.  Before  the  echoes 
of  Kishineff  had  died  away,  the  massacre  at  Gomel  fol- 
lowed. 

But  Kishineff  proved  to  be  merely  a  bloody  prelude.  The 
air  was  surcharged  with  explosives.  The  outbreak  of  the 
Russo-Japanese  war  and  of  the  first  organized  revolution 
created  a  dangerous  combination  of  events  for  the  Jews. 
To  the  discontent  of  the  peasants,  forced  to  go  to  the  front 
in  a  war  for  which  they  had  no  enthusiasm,  and  sore  with 
the  reverses  of  the  Russian  army,  was  added  the  increased 
activity  of  the  agitators  who  declared  that  the  war  with 
Japan  had  been  forced  upon  Russia  by  the  Jews,  eager  to 
profit  through  its  ruin,  and  who  called  upon  their  followers 
and  the  peasants  through  propaganda  and  proclamations 
to  revenge  themselves  upon  the  Jews.  The  government  at 
bay,  on  the  verge  of  breakdown  under  the  revolutionary  at- 
tacks, and  anxious  to  excuse  its  incompetency  and  failure 
in  the  conduct  of  the  war,  sought  a  means  of  diverting  the 
peasants  .from  the  uprisings  against  the  landed  proprietors 
spreading  over  the  land,  and,  above  all,  of  stifling  the  revo- 
lution, which  had  met  with  such  opportune  and  unlocked- 


66          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [482 

for  success  among  all  classes.  This  was  a  situation  alive 
with  danger  for  the  Jews,  whose  proletarians  in  the  cities 
had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  revolution.  The  organiza- 
tion of  Jewish  massacres  by  responsible  agents  of  the  gov- 
.  ernment  became  the  central  feature  of  its  program  of  coun- 
ter-revolution.1 A  veritable  holocaust  ensued  in  nearly 
every  province  of  the  Empire  for  two  years,  only  the 
climaxes  of  which  became  known  to  the  world  in  Zhitomir, 
Odessa,  Bialystok,  and  Siedlec. 

The  role  of  the  bureaucracy  in  the  creation  of  the 
pogroms,  especially  in  1906,  in  which  year  there  took  place 
hundreds  of  pogroms,  was  made  abundantly  clear  by  the 
Russian  press,  by  Prince  Urussov's  disclosures  in  the 
Duma,  and  by  the  report  of  the  Duma  Commission  ap- 
pointed to  investigate  the  causes  of  the  Bialystok  pogrom 
of  1906.  As  announced  in  their  official  report,  an  investi- 
gation had  shown  that  the  relations  between  the  Jews  and 
the  Christians  of  Bialystok  previous  to  the  bloodshed  had 
been  amicable,  and  that  preparations  for  a  pogrom  had 
been  deliberately  and  carefully  made  by  agents  of  the 
bureaucracy  and  carried  out  with  the  aid  of  the  local  au- 
thorities. 

Both  periods  of  pogroms  in  these  thirty  years  were 
periods  of  revolution.  In  both  the  government  had  felt 
the  ground  shaking  under  its  feet  from  terroristic  attacks 
and  from  peasant  uprisings.  In  the  first  period  Jews  had 
taken  only  slight  part  In  the  late  revolution,  however,  the 
participation  of  the  Jews  of  the  Pale,  through  the  Jewish 
labor  organization,  the  Bund,  was  quite  strong.  The 
earlier  pogroms  gave  a  hint  as  to  the  policy  of  the  new 
regime.  The  later  ones  occurred  at  the  end  of  years  of 

1  Semenoff,    The    Russian    Government    and    the    Jewish    Massacres 
(London,  1907),  pp.  147-167. 


THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY  ty 

repression  and  persecution,  and  were  a  culminating  point 
in  the  fury  of  the  reactionary  forces  at  their  failure  to  stem 
the  tide  of  liberalism  in  the  struggle  for  parliamentary  in- 
stitutions and  for  the  rights  of  citizens  in  a  modern  state.  ^__ 

The  results  of  these  thirty  years  of  reaction  remain  to  be 
considered.  Though  the  effects  of  the  pogroms  upon  the 
Russian  Jews  can  hardly  be  overestimated,  the  less  evident, 
because  less  spectacular,  methods  of  restrictive  law  and  ad- 
ministrative action  have  in  the  long  run  left  a  far  more 
enduring  impress. 

The  introduction  of  the  May  Laws  at  the  very  beginning 
of  the  eighties  awakened  the  Jews  to  the  realization  that 
their  future  in  Russia  was  threatened.  The  May  Laws 
and  the  laws  that  were  developed  from  them,  the  obstacles 
that  were  placed  in  the  way  of  Jewish  education  and,  in 
general,  the  administrative  difficulties  that  were  created, 
have  affected  every  movement  of  their  life. 

Freedom  of  movement  of  the  individual  is  the  very  es- 
sence of  the  life  of  modern  states  and  the  basis  of  their 
economic,  social  and  political  institutions.  The  lack  of  this 
freedom,  especially  to  the  extent  created  by  the  May  Laws, 
bars  the  Jews  from  the  possibilities  of  normal  economic 
growth  and  progress.  The  Jewish  manufacturers  and  cap- 
italists are  prevented  from  participating  in  the  industrial 
and  commercial  development  of  Russia,  which  is  so  rapidly 
proceeding  and  to  which,  owing  to  their  economic  position 
and  capacities,  they  could  powerfully  contribute.  Legal  in- 
terference with  economic  activities,  so  frequently  the  rule 
in  Russia,  is  emphasized  in  the  case  of  the  Jews. 

A  far  more  serious  situation  confronts  the  great  mass  of 
the  Jewish  artisans,  petty  merchants  and  factory  workers, 
to  which  the  vast  majority  of  the  Jews  belong.  Largely 
prevented  access  to  their  natural  customers,  the  peasants, 
by  the  prohibition  of  rural  residence,  and  confined  to  the 


68          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [484 

relatively  few  towns  of  the  Pale,  where  over-crowding  and 
over-competition  are  the  necessary  and  unavoidable  results, 
the  Jewish  artisans  and  petty  merchants  have  a  bitter  strug- 
gle to  maintain  a  position  of  economic  independence. 

Added  to  this,  there  is  the  social  pressure  to  which  the 
Jews  have  been  subjected.  Not  until  this  period  has  the 
century-long  position  of  the  Jews  as  the  "  pariahs  of  the 
Empire  "  been  so  sharply  emphasized.  Enmeshed  in  a  net 
of  special  laws  and  regulations,  at  the  mercy  of  ministerial 
decree,  secret  circular,  arbitrary  administrative  act,  law 
has  lost  all  meaning  for  the  Jews.  In  this  atmosphere  they 
exist  mainly  through  bribery,  at  once  their  bane  and  their 
salvation. 

The  unusual  economic  and  social  pressure  exerted  by  the 
reactionary  regime  upon  its  Jewish  subjects,  through  the 
new  restrictive  laws  that  were  put  into  operation  during  the 
last  thirty  years,  the  administrative  harrying  that  became 
the  order  of  the  day  and  the  introduction  of  the  hitherto 
unused  method  of  physical  repression,  the  pogrom,  becomes 
clear  in  the  light  of  its  policy.  Beginning  as  a  movement 
to  suppress  the  Jews  in  their  economic  and  cultural  activi- 
ties, and  to  separate  them  as  far  as  possible  from  their  Rus- 
sian neighbors,  the  anti-Jewish  program  became  in  its  final 
form  the  prpnlm'nn  and  extermination,  of  the  Jews  from  Rus- 
sia. The  historic  sentence  of  Count  Ignatiev,  author  of  the 
May  Laws,  at  the  very  beginning  of  this  period,  "  the 
Western  borders  are  open  to  you  Jews  ",  strikes  the  key- 
note of  this  policy.  And,  in  fact,  for  practically  the  first 
time  in  its  history,  the  Russian  government  relaxed  in 
1892  its  rigorous  rules  forbidding  emigration,  and  gave 
its  sanction  to  Baron  de  Hirsch's  plan  of  organizing  a  vast 
emigration-  of  Tews  from  Russia,  which  its  author  hoped 
would,  at  the  end  of  a  quarter  of  a  century,  result  in  the 
complete  transplantation  of  the  Jews  from  Russia.  The 


4-85]  THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY  69 

famous  principle  of  the  Russian  government,  "  once  a  Rus- 
sian always  a  Russian  ",  was  for  once  put  aside  in  favor 
of  the  Jews.  They  were  given  one  right  not  enjoyed  by 
other  Russians,  that  of  leaving  Russia  under  the  obligation 
of  abandoning  Russian  citizenship  forever.1 

II.    ROUMANIA 

Up  to  very  recent  years,  the  history  of  the  Jews  in  Rou- 
mania  centers  about  those  resident  in  Moldavia.  Its  prox- 
imity to  ancient  Poland  and  close  association  with  Bessar- 
abia, naturally  made  for  a  back-and-forth  movement  of  the 
Polish  and  Russian  Jews,  whose  settlement  was  invited  by 
the  boyars  or  landed  nobility  because  of  resulting  industrial 
and  commercial  advantages. 

The  position  of  the  Jews  in  Moldavia  up  to  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century  did  not  differ  to  any  extent  from 
that  of  their  brethren  in  Russia.  Moldavia,  as  a  Christian 
state,  denied  civil  and  political  rights  to  all  non-Christians. 
The  Jews  in  Moldavia  were  regarded  as  aliens,  whose 
activities  were  subject  to  special  regulation.  The  begin- 
ning of  the  last  century  witnessed  the  first  special  Jewish 
laws.  The  Jews  were  forbidden  to  buy  the  products  of  the 
sdil,  to  acquire  real  property;  non-resident  Jews  were  de- 
barred unless  they  could  prove  an  occupation  and  show  the 
possession  of  property.  Definite  restrictions  as  to  occupa- 
tion, residence  in  the  villages,  the  ownership,  in  villages,  of 
houses,  land,  vineyards,  etc.,  existed.  As  vagabonds  they 
could  be  expelled  from  the  country  by  administrative  de- 
cree. Thus  was  their  legal  status  fixed. 

The  emancipation  of  Jews  was  first  demanded  by  the 
liberal  party  during  the  revolutionary  days  of  1848.  But 
no  practical  change  resulted  until  the  Convention  of  Paris 
in  1856,  which,  in  granting  autonomy  to  the  two  provinces, 

1  Immigration  Commission :  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  pp. 
261-262. 


70          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [486 

guaranteed  civil  rights  to  all  Moldavians,  regardless  of 
creed.  Though  political  rights  were  granted  only  to  Chris- 
tian Moldo-Wallachians,  the  provision  was  made  that,  by 
legislative  arrangements,  the  enjoyment  of  political  rights 
could  be  extended  to  other  creeds.  Thus  was  established 
the  possibility  of  a  gradual  emancipation  of  the  Jews,  fore- 
shadowed in  the  communal  law  of  1864,  which  granted  the 
right  of  naturalization  to  certain  classes  of  native  Rou- 
manian Jews.  Those  who  had  passed  through  college  or 
had  a  recognized  foreign  degree,  or  who  had  founded  a 
factory  in  the  land  employing  at  least  fifty  workmen  were 
among  the  favored  classes. 

Shortly  afterwards,  this  section  was  abrogated,  and, 
with  the  abdication  of  the  liberal  Couza  and  the  ac- 
cession of  Charles  Hohenzollern,  the  present  king,  to  the 
throne,  the  situation  changed.  Article  VII  of  the  consti- 
tution of  the  newly-created  kingdom  read  that  foreigners 
not  of  the  Christian  faith  could  not  be  naturalized.  As 
within  the  term  foreigner  the  great  mass  of  the  Jews 
residing  in  the  land  was  included,  this  was  a  de- 
nial of  the  conditions  laid  down  in  the  Treaty  of  Paris. 
At  the  same  time,  old  laws  against  the  Jews  which  had 
fallen  into  abeyance  were  revived,  expulsions  of  the  Jews 
from  the  villages  into  the  towns  began  to  take  place  with 
great  frequency,  laws  requiring  all  sellers  of  liquor  in  rural 
communes  to  be  naturalized  Roumanians  deprived  many 
Jewish  families  of  a  livelihood — in  short,  the  usual  symp- 
toms of  anti-Jewish  activity  became  the  order  of  the  clay. 

It  was  at  the  famous  Berlin  Congress,  convened  to  decide 
questions  created  by  the  Russo-Turkish  war  of  1877,  that 
the  subject  of  the  Jewish  disabilities  in  Roumania  was 
brought  up,  in  connection  with  the  demand  of  Roumania 
for  recognition  as  an  independent  state.  The  chief  objec- 
tion made  especially  by  the  representatives  of  three  of  the 


487]  THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY  ji 

European  powers — France,  England  and  Germany — was 
Roumania's  treatment  of  the  Jews.  It  was  finally  decided 
by  the  Congress  to  recognize  her  independence  on  the  con- 
dition that  she  grant  civil  and  political  equality  to  all  her 
citizens  without  distinction  of  race  or  creed.  This  was  ex- 
pressed in  Article  44  of  the  historic  Berlin  Treaty,  which 
read  as  follows : 

Article  44.  In  Roumania,  difference  in  religious  beliefs  and 
confessions  shall  not  be  brought  against  anyone  as  a  ground 
for  exclusion  or  unfitness  as  regards  the  enjoyment  of  civil 
and  political  rights,  admission  to  public  offices,  functions,  and 
honors,  or  the  exercise  of  various  professions  and  industries 
in  any  place  whatever.  Freedom  in  outward  observance  of 
all  creeds  will  be  assured  to  all  subjects  of  the  Roumanian 
state,  as  well  as  to  strangers,  and  no  obstacle  will  be  raised 
either  to  the  ecclesiastical  organization  of  different  bodies,  or 
to  their  intercourse  with  their  spiritual  heads. 

The  citizens  of  all  states,  whether  merchants  or  others,  shall 
be  dealt  with,  in  Roumania,  without  distinction  of  religion,  on 
the  basis  of  perfect  equality. 

In  the  constituante  which  was  convoked  soon  after  to  dis- 
cuss the  question  of  giving  the  Jews  equal  political  rights,  an 
interesting  picture  is  obtained  of  the  sentiment  of  the  upper 
and  middle  classes  of  Roumania.1  An  overwhelming  ma- 
jority was  opposed  to  the  granting  of  political  rights  to 
the  Jewrs  on  the  ground  that  Roumania  was  a  Christian- 
Latin  State,  or  on  the  purely  nationalistic  ground  that  the 
Jews  were  an  alien  and  utterly  unassimilable  element  of  the 
population.  To  meet  the  demands  of  the  Powers  the  prin- 
ciple of  individual  naturalization  was  adopted,  by  which 
an  alien  could  be  granted  naturalization  individually  and 
only  by  a  special  vote  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  Other 

1  The  discussions  are  presented  in  La  question  ju'vue. 


72          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [488 

onerous  conditions,  such  as  the  requirement  of  a  ten  years' 
residence  in  the  country  for  citizenship,  and  the  prohibition 
of  the  purchase  by  aliens  of  rural  estates,  showed  conclu- 
sively that  Roumania  was  prepared  to  give  only  formal 
assent  to  the  demand  of  the  Powers.1  After  a  year  of 
negotiations,  the  three  Powers  agreed  to  the  recognition  of 
her  independence,  expressing  the  hope  that  the  Roumanian 
government  would  recognize  the  inadequacy  of  the  revised 
article  and  especially  of  the  principle  of  individual  natur- 
alization as  meeting  the  conditions  of  the  Berlin  Treaty, 
and  would  aim  towards  a  complete  emancipation  of  all  her 
subjects.2 

The  situation  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighties  presented 
but  little  hope  of  improvement  in  the  political  condition  of 
the  Jews.  Eight  hundred  and  eighty-three  Jews  who  had 
fought  in  the  war  for  independence  had  been  naturalized 
en  masse.  With  the  exception  of  this  small  number,  the 
Jews  were  legally  classed  as  foreigners.3  Shortly  after, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  Austria-Hungary  had  withdrawn  its 
protection  from  several  thousands  of  its  Jewish  citizens 
resident  in  Roumania,  the  entire  body  of  Jews  received  a 
new  legal  status,  that  of  "  foreigners  not  subject  to  any 
foreign  Power ".  In  other  words,  they  were  stateless, 
though  subject  to  all  the  obligations  of  Roumanian  citi- 
zens, including  military  service  and  the  payment  of  taxes. 
This  legal  status  of  the  Jews  has  received  the  attention  of 
the  world  and  marks  a  condition  of  things  which  according 
to  Bluntschli  is  "  a  denial  of  the  entire  development  of 
European  states  ".4 

1  Article  VII  is  given  in  Appendix  B,  p.  200. 

2  Cf.  English  Parliamentary  Papers,  1880,  vol.  Ixxix,  Correspondence 
relative  to  the  recognition  of  Roumania. 

*  In  the  following  twenty  years  only  85  Jews  were  granted  citizenship. 
4  Bluntschli's  pamphlet  is  a  valuable  statement  of  the  situation.     For 
title  cf.  Bibliography. 


489]  THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY  73 

Freed  from  the  control  of  the  Powers,  Roumania  now 
entered  on  a  new  campaign  of  discrimination  against  the 
Jews.  The  first  decade  of  the  eighties  saw  this  begun  in  a 
series  of  laws  which  for  completeness  finds  no  parallel  even 
in  Russia.  At  the  very  beginning,  a  law  giving  the  police 
the  right  of  domiciliary  visitation  and  of  expelling  under 
the  vagabond  law  anyone  in  the  rural  districts,  was  employed 
against  the  Jews,  resulting  in  their  frequent  expulsions  into 
the  towns.  The  enforcement  of  the  law  against  rural  resi- 
dence was  so  strict  as  to  create  practically  the  same  situa- 
tion as  exists  in  the  Russian  Pale.  The  law  of  1883,  pro- 
hibiting lotteries,  and  in  the  following  year  the  law  pro- 
hibiting hawking  or  any  form  of  sale  from  house  to  house 
or  on  the  streets  deprived  several  thousands  of  Jewish 
families  of  their  livelihood. 

It  was  in  1886  and  1887,  however,  when  the  laws  which 
were  to  create  a  national  industry  and  commerce  were  in- 
troduced, that  a  serious  step  was  taken  to  exclude  the  Jews 
from  economic  activity.  On  the  assumption  that  occupa- 
tions were  a  civil  right  to  which  aliens  could  or  could  not 
be  admitted,  the  Jews  were  systematically  deprived  even  of 
the  civil  rights  which  had  been  theirs,  to  a  great  extent, 
before  the  Berlin  Congress  sought  to  make  them  politically 
free.  As  foreigners,  the  Jews  were  prohibited  the  right  of 
choosing  electors  for  the  newly-created  Chambers  of  Com- 
merce and  Trade,  or  of  becoming  members  of  these  cham- 
bers although  they  formed  a  large  majority  of  the  mer- 
chants and  manufacturers  represented  in  these  important 
bodies.  A  still  more  serious  provision  was  that  which  de- 
creed that  five  years  after  the  foundation  of  a  factory 
two-thirds  of  the  workingmen  employed  therein  must  be 
Roumanians.  Jews  were  also  partly  excluded  from  the  ad- 
ministrative positions  in  joint-stock  companies.  They  were 
completely  excluded  from  employment  in  the  financial  in- 


74          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [490 

stitutions  of  the  state,  from  the  state  railway  service,  and, 
by  a  provision  that  two-thirds  of  the  employes  on  private 
railways  must  be  Roumanians,  were  practically  excluded 
from  these  as  well.  The  sharpest  blow,  however,  was 
struck  in  1902,  when  a  new  law  for  the  organization  of 
trades,  popularly  known  as  the  Artisans'  Bill,  was  passed. 
In  this  law  there  is  to  be  seen  a  revival  of  the  guild  organi- 
zations of  the  Middle  Ages.  To  pursue  his  occupation 
every  artisan  was  required  to  obtain  a  certificate  from  a 
guild.  Jewish  master  artisans  and  workmen  were  hit  by 
the  requirement  that  aliens  in  order  to  have  the  right  of 
working  in  acordance  with  this  law  must  prove  that  in  their 
own  country  reciprocal  rights  existed  for  Roumanians,  or 
obtain  an  authorization  from  a  Chamber  of  Commerce  or 
Industry.  Whatever  value  this  requirement  may  have  had 
for  the  protection  of  Roumanian  workmen  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, its  chief  effect  was  to  place  in  a  position  of  economic 
helplessness  the  majority  of  the  Jewish  workmen  as  "aliens 
not  subject  to  any  foreign  Power  ",  and  largely  unable  to 
secure  authorization  from  such  chambers  controlled  by  com- 
petitors. Other  clauses,  requiring  that  all  workingmen  be- 
long to  a  guild,  and  that  fifty  workmen  possessing  civil  and 
political  rights  are  empowered  to  form  a  guild,  put  the  con- 
trol of  trades  into  the  hands  of  non-Jews,  although  the  ma- 
jority of  the  artisans  in  many  of  the  trades  were  Jews. 

A  similar  policy  was  pursued  with  reference  to  the  cul- 
tural activities  of  the  Jews.  A  circular  of  the  minister  of 
public  instruction,  issued  in  1887,  ordered  that  preference 
should  be  given  to  Roumanian  children,  in  cases  where 
there  was  not  enough  room  in  the  elementary  schools  for 
all.  This  began  the  gradual  exclusion  of  Jewish  children 
from  the  Roumanian  elementary  schools.  The  formal  treat- 
ment of  the  Jews  as  aliens  in  the  educational  system  was 
introduced  in  1893,  when  all  aliens  were  required  to  pay 


491]  THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY  75 

fees  for  entrance  into  the  public  schools,  and  were  admitted 
only  in  case  there  was  enough  room  for  them.  The  ef- 
fect of  these  laws  was  seen  in  the  diminished  proportion  of 
Jewish  children  in  the  elementay  schools.  Similar  provi- 
sions for  the  secondary  and  high  schools  and  universities 
largely  closed  the  doors  of  these  institutions  to  the  Jews. 
From  schools  of  agriculture  and  forestry,  and  of  commerce 
they  were  completely  excluded. 

To  the  educational  restrictions  were  added  restrictions 
to  professional  service.  As  aliens,  they  were  forbidden  to 
be  employed  in  the  public  sanitary  service  and  health  de- 
partment as  physicians,  pharmacists,  etc.,  from  owning  as 
well  as  working  in  private  pharmacies,  and  from  entering 
other  professional  fields. 

The  almost  complete  agreement  of  the  two  principal 
parties — liberal  and  conservative — explains  the  thorough- 
ness and  uninterrupted  progress  of  this  process  of  piling 
up  disability  upon  disability.  The  explanation  is  partly  to 
be  found  in  the  constitution  of  Roumania,  the  electoral 
law  of  which  places  the  political  powers  in  the  hands  of  two 
classes — the  landed  aristocracy  and  the  urban,  or  middle 
class.  The  vast  majority  of  the  peasants  are  excluded  by 
educational  and  property  qualifications,  obtaining  only  in- 
direct representation.  Had  the  Jews  been  granted  political 
rights,  they  would  have  shared  political  power  with  the 
other  two  classes.  It  is  through  the  second  electoral  col- 
lege, of  both  the  Senate  and  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  that 
the  middle  class  is  represented  politically.  As  manufac- 
turers and  merchants,  as  urban  dwellers,  as  members  of 
the  liberal  professions  and  as  graduates  of  the  elementary 
schools,  the  Jews  would  have  become  the  most  important 
part  of  this  electoral  college. 

Again,  the  creation  of  an  industry  and  commerce  along 
national  lines  was  largely  a  course  of  action  in  the  interests 


76  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [493 

of  this  middle  class  of  Roumanian  merchants,  artisans  and 
laborers.  It  was  in  favor  of  this  class  that  the  laws  were 
passed  debarring  Jews  from  various  occupations  and  seek- 
ing essentially  to  wrest  the  industrial  and  commercial 
monopoly  from  their  hands. 

In  this  course  of  action,  powerful  aid  was  extended  by  the 
bureaucracy,  recruited  mainly  from  the  lower  nobility  and 
the  middle  classes.  Depending  for  their  support  upon  the 
urbans,  and  seeking  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  Jews  into 
state  service,  which  would  have  resulted  from  the  granting 
of  political  rights  to  the  Jews,  the  bureaucracy  have  acted 
in  harmony  with  the  middle  classes  in  the  attempt  to  make 
the  Jews  politically,  economically,  and  culturally  powerless. 

Thus  the  situation  that  the  Jews  in  Roumania  have  been 
facing  for  thirty  years  is  abnormal,  from  every  standpoint. 
At  no  time  within  thirty  years  has  there  been  any 
serious  question  of  giving  to  the  Jews  the  political  rights, 
the  granting  of  which  had  been  made  the  condition  of  the 
recognition  of  Roumania' s  independence  by  the  Powers. 
The  history  of  the  succeeding  thirty  years  has  been  one 
of  gradual,  steady  and  systematic  deprivation  of  one  civil 
right  after  another.  To  the  prohibition  of  freedom  of 
movement  has  been  added  that  of  work;  one  occupation 
after  another  has  been  prohibited  to  Jews  under  the  mask 
of  foreigners.  From  all  the  branches  of  state  service  Jews 
have  been  almost  completely  debarred.  Participation  in 
important  private  and  public  enterprises  has  similarly  been 
limited.  The  schools  have  been  largely  closed  to  them. 
The  effect  has  been  partly  registered  in  a  rate  of  illiteracy 
higher  in  the  cities  among  the  Jewish  children  between 
seven  and  fifteen  than  among  the  non-Jewish  children  of 
the  same  age. 

Thus  the  conscious  policy  of  Roumania  has  been  that  of 
oppression,  political,  economic  and  social,  with  the  delib- 


493]  THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY  77 

erate  aim  of  making  it  impossible  for  the  Jews  to  live  in 
Roumania.  This  method  of  indirect  expulsion  is  the  es- 
sence of  her  policy  of  thirty  years.  As  such  it  was  recog- 
nized and  openly  stated  in  the  only  formal  protest  against 
her  manner  of  fulfilling  the  conditions  of  the  Berlin  Treaty, 
made  by  the  United  States,  through  its  Secretary  of  State, 
John  Hay,  whose  circular  to  the  Powers  signatory  to  the 
Treaty  demanded  that  Roumania  be  called  to  account  for 
her  treatment  of  the  Jews,  and  her  dishonesty  in  violating 
the  pledges  given  by  her  to  the  Powers.1 

III.    AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 

Until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  legal  posi- 
tion of  the  Jews  in  Austria-Hungary  differed  from  that  of 
their  brethren  in  Russia  and  Roumania  only  in  degree. 
Prohibited  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion,  the  right  to 
hold  real  property,  and  to  enter  certain  occupations,  and 
burdened  by  special  Jewish  taxes,  the  Jews  remained  a 
class  apart  and  governed  in  all  their  activities  by  special 
laws.  Their  legal  emancipation,  begun  in  1848,  was  defi- 
nitely established  by  the  promulgation  in  each  division  of 
the  Empire  of  the  Fundamental  Law  of  1867,  declaring 
that  religion  should  not  be  a  ground  for  discrimination  in 
civil  and  political  rights. 

The  civil  and  political  equality  of  the  Jews  was  a  car- 
dinal principle  of  the  creed  of  German- Austrian  lib- 
eralism and  one  of  a  number  of  its  victories  embod- 
ied in  the  Constitution  of  1867.  Austrian  economic 
and  social  life  at  this  period  was,  however,  too  satu- 
rated with  medievalism  to  allow  for  a  complete  revo- 
lution in  the  attitude  toward  the  Jews.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  influential  part  played  by  the  Jews  in  the 
liberal  movement  and  the  fact  that  a  group  of  wealthy 

1  The  Hay  note  is  given  in  Appendix  C,  pp.  201-206. 


78          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [494 

Jews  were  powerful  factors  in  the  haute  finance  and  in  the 
commercial  life  of  the  country  were  made  the  basis  of  an 
attack  by  the  feudal-clericals  upon  the  Jews. 

The  great  financial  crash  of  1873,  in  which  several  Jewish 
financial  houses  were  concerned,  was  the  starting-point  of 
political  antisemitism  in  Austria.  The  Jews  were  denounced 
as  the  representatives  of  the  capitalist  order  of  society,  with 
its  overwhelming  concentration  of  wealth  and  its  exploita- 
tion of  the  industrial  and  the  agricultural  proletariat.  The 
Christian-Socialist  movement  began  with  antisemitism 
as  the  corner-stone  of  its  economic  and  social  doctrines. 
Its  opposition  to  the  Jews  and  to  capitalism  was  largely  due 
to  medieval  prejudices  in  favor  of  the  Christian-feudal 
state  and  the  medieval  industrial  organization.  In  the  early 
eighties  it  began  to  triumph  when  the  "  small  man  "  or  petty 
industrialist  received  political  power  through  an  extension 
of  the  suffrage. 

It  reached  its  height  in  the  nineties,  when,  under  the  com- 
bined influence  of  feudal-clerical  nobles,  the  clergy  and  the 
lower  middle  class,  a  period  of  reaction  set  in.  In  Vienna, 
in  1895,  the  antisemite  Lueger  was  elected  mayor.  Power- 
less though  they  were  to  change  the  legal  status  of  the  Jews, 
the  antisemites  succeeded  in  creating  in  both  upper  and 
lower  circles  of  Austrian  society  an  atmosphere  of  antago- 
nism to  the  Jews  which  has  prevented  the  complete  ful- 
fillment of  the  principle  of  equality  as  set  forth  in  the  con- 
stitution. 

The  clericals  have  fanned  the  flames  of  religious  hatred 
especially  among  the  peasantry  by  ritual-murder  accusa- 
tions, which  have  been  rife  and  have  played  a  large  part  in 
strengthening  the  sentiment  of  hostility  toward  the  Jews. 

In  Galicia,  the  position  of  the  Jews  became  unsettled, 
owing  to  a  variety  of  causes.1  Although  one  of  the 

1  Jiiduche  Statistik,  p.  208  et  seq. 


495]  THIRTY  YEARS  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY  79 

least  advanced  among  the  Austrian  crown  lands,  Gali- 
cia  has  experienced  within  the  last  half -century  an  in- 
dustrial and  commercial  development  along  with  the 
rest  of  the  Empire.  This  resulted  in  the  growth  of 
a  middle  class  particularly  among  the  Poles,  which  began 
to  compete  for  supremacy  with  the  Jews.  The  improve- 
ments in  transportation  and  communication,  the  organiza- 
tion of  agricultural  syndicates,  for  the  purpose  of  directly 
purchasing  and  selling  the  produce  of  the  peasants,  and  the 
creation  of  rural  credit  societies,  helped  considerably  to  dis- 
place the  Jewish  middlemen  and  traders  as  well  as  the 
Jewish  money-lenders,  who  dealt  largely  with  the  peasantry. 
The  movement  to  develop  Galicia  industrially  was  fostered 
on  national  lines  by  these  Polish  organizations,  which  car- 
ried on  an  extensive  propaganda  and  systematically  or- 
ganized economic  boycotts  against  the  Jews.  "  Do  not  buy 
of  Jews  ",  "  Do  not  patronize  Jewish  artisans ",  became 
familiar  cries  in  Galicia  as  in  other  parts  of  Austria. 

The  process  of  wrestling  the  monopoly  of  industry,  trade 
and  commerce  from  the  Jews  in  favor  of  the  Polish  petty 
merchants  and  artisans  was  considerably  accelerated  by  the 
official  bodies,  the  autonomous  Galician  Diet  and  the  muni- 
cipal boards,  controlled  chiefly  by  the  Polish-Catholic  nobil- 
ity, who  saw  in  the  national-industry  movement  a  means  of 
capturing  the  votes  of  the  middle  class  and  of  thus  retaining 
their  position  as  leaders  of  the  Polish  people.  Communal 
funds  were  used  to  establish  Poles  in  business.  Attempts 
were  made  to  take  away  from  the  Jews  the  small-salt  and 
tobacco  trades.  The  taxes  on  the  taverns  were  increased. 
In  the  public  financial  institutions  organized  for  various 
purposes  Jews  were  not  given  representation.  In  nearly  all 
the  activities  designed  to  promote  the  interest  of  the  urban 
population  and  the  peasantry,  the  Jews  were  systematically 
excluded  by  the  local  authorities. 


go          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [496 

Added  to  this,  the  increasing  distress  of  the  Galician  peas- 
ants has  reacted  strongly  upon  the  Jews,  who  depend  so 
largely  upon  their  buying  power.  The  poverty  of  the  peas- 
antry, the  competition  for  the  control  of  the  rural  market 
created  by  public  and  private  agencies,  added  to  the  increas- 
ing competition  in  the  towns  from  other  sections  of  the 
population,  have  all  co-operated  to  create  a  great  surplus, 
in  proportion  to  the  population,  of  petty  merchants  and  ar- 
tisans among  the  Jews.  This  had  its  effect  in  an  over-com- 
petition from  the  side  of  the  Jews  themselves. 

The  Jews  have  suffered  as  well  from  their  historical  role 
of  intermediaries  between  a  most  avaricious  nobility  and  a 
bitterly  exploited  peasantry.  Acting  as  stewards  and  as 
tavern  keepers  for  the  Polish  nobles,  who  are  mainly  ab- 
sentee landlords,  and  who,  until  very  recently,  enjoyed  the 
right  of  keeping  taverns  as  one  of  their  feudal  privileges, 
the  Jews  have  become  the  buffers  of  the  deep-seated  antag- 
onism between  the  two  chief  classes  of  Galicia. 

Agrarian  uprisings  have  been  frequent  of  late,  particu- 
larly after  the  failure  of  the  crops,  which  here  as  in  Russia 
and  Roumania  spells  a  crisis.  These,  chiefly  directed 
against  the  nobles,  have  frequently  been  diverted  toward 
the  Jews,  to  whom  the  peasants  are  largely  indebted,  and  in 
whom  they  see  the  visible  instruments  of  the  oppression  of 
their  lords. 

Economic  antagonism  has  been  intensified  by  the  relig- 
ious hatred  which  has  been  fostered  by  the  Polish  clergy 
and  which  has  been  the  basis  of  numerous  ritual -murder 
charges. 


CHAPTER  V 
CONCLUSION 

AN  intimate  connection  has  thus  been  established  be- 
tween the  present  state  of  economic  and  social  transition 
through  which  the  countries  of  Eastern  Europe  are  passing 
and  the  situation  which  has  confronted  the  Jews  in  each  of 
these  countries  and  has  profoundly  influenced  their  position 
and  their  history  for  the  last  third  of  a  century.  What  the 
forces  are  behind  the  emigration  of  the  Jews  from  these 
countries  to  Western  Europe  and  the  United  States  during 
this  period  now  become  clear. 

The  industrial  and  commercial  development  of  the  recent 
decades  brought  about  changes  in  themselves  unfavorable 
to  the  economic  activities  of  the  Jews.  The  improvements 
in  communication  and  transportation  through  the  exten- 
sion of  railroads,  the  building  of  roads,  and  the  creation  of 
credit  facilities  especially  for  the  peasantry  served  partly  to 
displace  the  Jews,  whose  economic  position  had  been  largely 
based  upon  the  services  they  rendered  in  a  relatively  back- 
ward industrial  and  commercial  civilization.  The  rise  of  a 
middle  class  among  the  Christian  populations,  chiefly  en- 
gaged in  industry,  added  an  element  of  competition  not  be- 
fore present.  Not  the  least  important  in  its  effects  was  the 
increasing  poverty  of  the  peasantry,  which  seriously  af- 
fected the  Jews,  as  the  principal  buyers  of  their  produce) 
and  sellers  of  finished  products.  Agricultural  crises,  so 
frequent  in  recent  years  in  Eastern  Europe,  have  often  in- 
volved the  Jews  in  financial  ruin.1 

1  Cf.  Hersch,  chap.  v.    He  gives  to  this  factor  far  more  importance 
than  it  deserves.    For  criticism  of  his  method,  cf.  p.  92,  note  i. 
497]  Bi 


\ 


82  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES 

These  purely  economic  factors  served  to  weaken  the 
position  of  the  Jews  and  to  cause  an  over-concentra- 
tion in  trade  and  industry,  to  their  detriment.  The  gradual 
readjustment  that  would  have  followed  naturally  was,  how- 
ever, prevented  by  the  existence  of  other  forces,  in  the  action 
of  which  we  find  the  key  to  the  situation  faced  by  the  Jew  si 
and  the  impelling  forces  of  Jewish  emigration. 

One  of  these  was  the  economic  antisemitism  that  rose 
partly  from  the  competition  of  the  middle  classes  of  both 
populations.  This  competitive  jealousy  awakened  racial 
and  religious  prejudices  and  found  particularly  in  Galicia 
an  active  expression  in  the  organization  of  economic  boy- 
cotts, and  in  the  co-operative  agencies  that  were  created  to 
foster  the  growth  of  the  Christian  artisans  and  merchants. 
The  sufferings  of  the  agricultural  population,  again,  were 
charged  to  the  Jews,  with  whom  the  peasants  were  in  close 
business  relations  and  to  whom  they  were  deeply  indebted. 
Preached  from  platform,  press  and  pulpit,  the  doctrine  of 
Jewish  exploitation  of  the  peasantry  found  a  ready  accept- 
ance among  all  classes. 

Economic  and  social  hostility  was  furthered  by  the 
feudal  ruling  classes  whose  antagonism  to  the  Jews  was 
deep-seated  and  many-sided.  As  these  formed  the  ruling 
economic,  social  and  political  power  in  Eastern  Europe, 
they  were  the  chief  instrument  in  creating  a  situation  that 
was  full  of  danger  for  the  Jews.  In  the  politico-economic! 
struggles  between  these  privileged  classes  and  the  liberal 
middle  classes  that  accompanied  the  transition,  the  Jews 
were  found,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  on  the  side  of 
the  liberals,  who  sought  to  introduce  the  economic,  social 
and  political  conditions  of  modern  civilization.  Thus  they 
served  as  a  convenient  object  of  attack.  In  Russia,  where, 
since  the  reaction,  the  control  of  the  feudal  classes  over  the 
government  was  complete,  the  new  laws  restricting  resi- 


499]  CONCLUSION  83 

dence,  movement,  occupations  and  economic  activity  in  gen- 
eral, checked  the  economic  growth  of  the  Jews  and  put 
them  at  a  great  disadvantage:  in  the  struggle  for  existence. 
This  situation  was  created  to  an  even  greater  degree  in  Rou- 
mania,  where  the  economic  interests  of  the  Roumanian 
middle  class  were  furthered  at  the  expense  of  the  Jews. 
Economic  helplessness  was  essentially  the  condition  created 
for  the  Jews,  so  narrow  was  the  margin  left  for  the  exer- 
cise of  their  powers.  The  social  pressure  that  was  added, 
through  laws  limiting  the  entrance  of  Jews  to  the  educa- 
tional institutions  and  the  liberal  professions,  seeking  to 
limit  their  cultural  influence,  was  part  and  parcel  of  the 
same  policy.  In  the  case  of  Russia,  repression  reached  the 
form  of  massacres  of  Jews,  when  these  were  found  politi- 
cally useful. 

Governmental  oppression  was  thus  the  chief  force  in  un- 
settling the  economic  and  social  position  of  the  Jews, 
Throughout  the  course  of  thirty  years  the  leading  motive 
of  the  Russian  and  Roumanian  governments  was  the  re- 
duction, through  every  possible  means,  of  the  number  of 
their  Jewish  populations. 

This  governmental  pressure  which  began  to  be  applied  at 
the  beginning  of  the  eighties  became  equivalent  in  the  course 
of  time  to  an  expulsive  force.  The  only  outlet  to  the  intol- 
erable conditions  that  had  been  created  by  the  forces  of 
governmental  repression  and  oppression  was  emigration. 
This  was  sensed  by  the  Jews  at  the  very  beginning  of  the 
period.  How  eagerly  it  has  been  seized  upon  the  following 
pages  will  show.  It  is  enough  for  the  moment  to  point  out 
that  the  vast  and  steadily  increasing  stream  of  Russian  Jew- 
ish immigrants  to  the  United  States  alone,  has  risen  to  such 
proportions  that  its  average  for  the  past  decade  has  ap- 
proached the  estimated  annual  increase  of  the  Jews  in  Rus- 
sia. In  other  words,  emigration  has  begun  to  mean  the  de- 


84          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [500 

cline,  not  only  relatively,  but  even  absolutely,  of  the  Jewish 
population  in  Russia. 

The  fact  that  the  persecution  of  the  Jews  in  the  case  of 
Russia  and  Roumania  amounts  to  a  force  of  rejection  has 
been  widely  recognized  during  the  course  of  the  emigration 
of  the  Jews  from  Eastern  Europe.  In  England,  where  the 
number  of  Jewish  immigrants  increased  rapidly,  it  found 
expression  in  the  official  reports,  and  in  the  United  States, 
it  became  a  subject  of  direct  diplomatic  correspondence  in 
the  formal  protest  to  Russia  in  1891  by  President  Harrison, 
and  in  1902  in  the  circular  note  to  the  Powers  by  Secretary 
Hay,  regarding  Roumania's  treatment  of  the  Jews. 

A  still  more  significant  recognition  of  the  exceptional 
forces  behind  the  Jewish  immigration  was  given  by  the  Jews 
of  Western  Europe  and  the  United  States,  living  in  a  state 
i  of  freedom,  security  and  comparative  wealth,  to  whom  the 
"^  oncoming  of  thousands  of  Jewish  refugees  at  all  the  critical 
periods,  and  the  steady  stream  of  Jewish  immigrants  at 
other  times  has  meant  a  taking-up  of  onerous  burdens  and 
a  sharing  of  the  hardships  of  the  situation  thus  suddenly 
thrust  upon  them.  The  attempt  to  organize  and  regulate 
Jewish  emigration  from  Eastern  Europe  was  a  task  early 
undertaken  by  the  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle.  The  Jew- 
ish Colonization  Association  was  expressly  founded  by 
Baron  de  Hirsch  to  open  up,  in  various  countries,  new 
paths  for  the  Jewish  emigrants.  At  all  periods  of  excep- 
tional emigration,  national  and  international  committees 
met  to  consider  the  problems  of  the  immigrants  thrown 
upon  their  responsibility. 

The  vast  majority  of  the  emigrants  made  the  United 
A  States  their  goal.     In  their  movement  and  their  economid 
and  social  characteristics  we  shall  find  a  striking  reflection 
of  the  impelling  forces  of  their  emigration. 


PART   II 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  THE 
UNITED  STATES 

A.     ITS  MOVEMENT 


CHAPTER  I 
DETERMINATION  OF  NUMBER  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS 

IN  a  study  of  Jewish  immigration  to  the  United  States 
the  first  problem  is  to  determine  the  number  o-f  Jews  who 
entered  this  country  during  the  thirty  years  from  1881  to 
1910,  and  their  nationality,  or  their  countries  of  nativity. 
The  determination  of  these  figures  meets  with  the  diffi- 
culty that  prior  to  1899,  immigrants  were  classified  in  the 
official  statistics  by  country  of  nativity  or  residence,  and 
not  by  race  or  nationality.  Thus  the  figures  regarding 
Jewish  immigration  are  obtainable  from  official  sources 
only  from  1899.  Those  relating  to  previous  years  have  to 
be  sought  for  elsewhere. 

The  main  sources  that  have  been  used  to  obtain  the  fig- 
ures before  1899  are  the  reports  of  three  Jewish  societies 
which  were  concerned  with  the  care  of  the  Jewish  immi- 
grants arriving  at  the  principal  ports  of  New  York,  Phila- 
delphia, and  Baltimore.  These  were  the  United  Hebrew 
Charities,  of  New  York;  the  Association  for  the  Protec- 
tion of  Jewish  Immigrants,  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  He- 
brew Benevolent  Society,  of  Baltimore.  Each  of  these 
maintained  an  agent  who,  besides  his  other  duties,  collected 
statistical  information  concerning  the  sex,  age,  country  of 
nativity,  occupation,  destination,  etc.,  of  the  Jewish  immi- 
grants, partly  from  the  ships'  manifests  and  partly  through 
personal  inquiry.  The  statistical  information  thus  obtained 
was  regularly  included  in  the  annual  reports  of  these  socie- 
ties. These  records  were  begun  by  the  New  York  and 

87 


88          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [504 

Philadelphia  societies,  in  1884,  and  by  the  Baltimore  so- 
ciety, in  1891. 

As  the  yearly  statistical  tables  of  these  reports  were  made 
to  correspond  with  the  annual  meeting  of  these  societies,1 
it  was  found  advisable  to  rearrange  them  from  July  to  June, 
in  order  to  have  them  correspond  with  the  fiscal  year,  and 
thus  allow  for  a  proper  comparison  with  the  official  data 
furnished  by  the  immigration  authorities. 

As  rearranged,  the  tables  presented  the  number  of  Jew- 
ish immigrants  entering  the  ports  of  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia from  July  i,  1886,  to  June  30,  1898,  and  the  num- 
ber of  Jewish  immigrants  entering  the  port  of  Baltimore 
from  July  I,  1891,  to  June  30,  i898.2  As  these  three  ports 
were,  up  to  recent  years,  the  places  of  entry  of  all  but  a 
very  small  number  of  Jewish  immigrants,  the  figures  thus 
obtained  represent  practically  the  total  Jewish  immigration 
to  the  United  States  from  1886  to  1898.^ 

To  ascertain  the  nationality  or  country  of  nativity  of  the 
Jewish  immigrants  from  1886  to  1898,  it  was  necessary  to 
redistribute  in  accordance  with  the  fiscal  year  the  monthly 
arrivals  found  in  the  tables  of  the  United  Hebrew  Charities, 
which  contain  the  figures  for  each  nationality.3  As  the  re- 
ports of  the  Philadelphia  society  gave  only  the  totals  of  ar- 
rivals of  each  nationality  for  each  year  but  not  distributed 
by  months,  the  following  method  was  employed.  The  per- 
centage the  immigration  of  each  nativity  constituted  of  the 
total  immigration  from  November  to  October  (the  society's 
year)  was  used  as  the  basis  for  calculating  the  annual  im- 

1  The  year  of  the  United  Hebrew  Chanties  is  from  October  to  Sep- 
tember, that  of  the  Philadelphia  society  is  from  November  to  October, 
that  of  the  Baltimore  society  is  from  July  to  June. 

2  Cf.  table  II,  p.  159.    The  figures  for  Baltimore  were  furnished  by 
the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund. 

8  For  an  example  of  this  distribution  cf.  table  III,  p.  159. 


505]  NUMBER  OF  Jl  l-'ANTS  89 

migration  of  each  nativity  ne.1    There  being 

no  essential  difference  betv  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia, 
so  far  as  Jewish  immigra  each  n  ttionality  are  con- 

cerned, the  same  percentag-     were   ised       for  Philadelphia.2 
The  discrepancy  betwee  official  iigures  of  the  total 

immigration  from  Rouma  to  1898  and  those 

of  the  Jewish  societies  f  •  Jewish  immigrants   from 

Roumania  for  the  same  p  worthy  of  note.     In  each 

of  four  years  the  number  •  immigrants  from  Rou- 

mania as  reported  by  the  Jewish  societies  exceeded  the 
total  immigration  from  Roumania  as  reported  in  the  official 
statistics.  For  two  years,  1892  and  1893,  the  official  sta- 
tistics do  not  report  any  immigrants  from  Roumania, 
whereas  the  Jewish  societies  report,3  respectively,  740  and 
555  Jewish  immigrants  from  Roumania,  which  represented 
a  normal  number  from  this  country,  as  the  other  years  indi- 
cate.4 

1  Cf.  table  IVA,  p.  160.    Thus,  from  November  1885  to  October  1886 
there  entered  the  port  of  Philadelphia  2165  Jews,  of  whom  1624  or  75 
per  cent  were  from  Russia,  260  or  12  per  cent  were  from  Austria- 
Hungary,  43  or  2  per  cent  were  from  Roumania,  and  238  or  n  per 
cent  were  from  all  other  countries.    From  July  I,   1885  to  June  30, 
1886,  there  entered  the  port  of  Philadelphia  1625  Jews.    To  ascertain 
the  numbers  of  each  nationality  for  this  fiscal  year,  we  may  use  the 
percentages    given    above    for    each    nationality.      Calculating    these, 
we  find  that  in  the  fiscal  year  1886  of  the  1625  Jews  entering  the  port 
of    Philadelphia,    1218   were    from    Russia,    196   were    from    Austria- 
Hungary,  33  were  from  Roumania,  and  178  were  from  all  other  coun- 
tries.    In  like  manner,  the  numbers  of  each  nationality  for  the  other 
years  were  obtained. 

2  Cf.  table  IVs,  p.  160. 

8  As  corrected  by  the  methods  described. 

4  For  the  four  years  mentioned,  the  figures  are  as  follows,  those  re- 
ported by  the  Jewish  societies  preceding  those  from  official  sources: 
in  1886,  518,  494;  in  1887,  2063,  2045;  in  1888,  1653,  1188;  in  1889, 
1058,  893.  For  the  official  figures  cf.  Immigration  Commission :  Statis- 
tical Review  of  Immigration,  pp.  40-44. 


90          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [506 

The  total  number  of  immigrants  of  each  nationality  ar- 
riving from  July  i,  1886,  to  June  30,  1898,  was  thus  ob- 
tained. The  total  number  of  Jewish  immigrants  arriving 
from  Russia,  Austria-Hungary  and  Roumania,  at  each  of 
the  principal  ports,  for  each  year  from  1886  to  1898,  are 
summarized  in  table  V.1 

The  figures  of  Jewish  immigration  before  1886  were  not 
obtainable  either  from  the  official  or  the  Jewish  sources, 
there  being  only  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  the  Jewish 
immigrants  from  1881  to  1884  in  the  American  Jewish  Year 
Book  of  1899-1900  (as  74,310),  and  in  the  Jewish  Ency- 
clopedia (as  62,022),  without  any  indications  as  to  how 
these  were  obtained.  To  secure  a  fairly  accurate  statement, 
the  proportion  the  Russian  Jewish  immigration  from  1886 
to  1898  bore  to  the  total  Russian  immigration  was  used  as 
the  basis  for  calculating  the  total  number  of  Russian  Jew- 
ish immigrants  from  1881  to  1885. 2  This  was  distributed 
yearly  according  to  the  proportion  of  each  year's  contribu- 
tion to  the  five  years'  total.  By  a  similar  calculation  the 
number  of  Jewish  immigrants  from  Austria-Hungary  was 
obtained.3  For  Roumania,  the  proportion  of  Jews  being 

3  Cf.  table  V,  p.  161. 

1  Out  of  a  total  of  505,078  Russian  immigrants  from  1886  to  1898, 
the  Russian  Jewish  immigrants  constituted  315,355,  or  62  per  cent. 

*  In  calculating  the  number  of  Jewish  immigrants  from  Austria- 
Hungary  the  percentage  the  Jewish  immigration  was  of  the  total 
immigration  from  Austria-Hungary  from  1886  to  1910  and  not,  as  in 
the  case  with  the  Jewish  immigration  from  Russia,  from  1886  to 
1898,  was  used  through  an  oversight  as  the  basis  for  calculation.  As 
the  immigration  of  Jews  from  Austria-Hungary  for  1885  at  the  port 
of  New  York  alone  constituted  14  per  cent  of  the  total  immigration 
from  Austria-Hungary,  this  figure  was  put  down  in  to  to,  being  a  higher 
number  than  the  one  obtained  by  calculation.  As  the  Jewish  immigra- 
tion from  1886  to  1910  constituted  9  per  cent  of  the  total  immigration 
from  Austria-Hungary  and  the  immigration  from  1886  to  1898  con- 
stituted 14  per  cent  of  the  total  immigration,  the  difference  is  not 


507]  NUMBER  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS  91 

more  than  ninety  per  cent,  and  at  this  period  practically 
the  entire  Roumanian  immigration  being  Jewish,  the  fig- 
ures were  taken  in  toto.  The  results  for  each  year  added! 
together  constituted  the  total  Jewish  immigration  for  the 
year. 

The  general  tendency  among  writers  on  the  subject  of 
Jewish  immigration  has  been  to  exaggerate  the  magnitude 
of  this  movement.  In  a  discussion  in  the  Jewish  Encyclo- 
pedia regarding  the  dimensions  of  the  Jewish  immigration 
before  1899,  exact  figures  were  given  that  are  on  their  face 
erroneous.1  The  inaccuracy  of  these  figures  is  explained 
by  the  fact  that  the  writer  committed  a  gross  error  in  mak- 
ing his  table.  The  total  Russian  immigration  to  the  United 
States  from  1880  to  1898  was  designated  as  the  Jewish  im- 
migration from  Russia,  though  it  should  have  been  evi- 
dent that  the  number  of  other  peoples  coming  from  Russia 
and  included  in  these  figures  must  have  been  very  large. 
Another  column  gave  as  Jewish  immigrants  coming  from 
countries  other  than  Russia,  the  totals  of  the  Jewish  im- 
migrants entering  the  United  States  from  1885  to  1898,  as 
reported  in  the  American  Jewish  Year  Book  of  1899  (the 

large.  Following  is  the  table  indicating  the  difference  for  each  year 
from  1881  to  1884. 

Year.        Total  immigration.  fewish  immigration.  Difference. 

at  14  per  cent        at  9  per  cent 

1881  27935  3882  2537  1345 

1882  29150  4051  2648  1403 

1883  27625  3840  2510  1330 

1884  36571  5083  3340  1743 

The  increased  numbers  from  the  higher  percentage  involve  no 
change  in  the  relative  position  of  Jewish  immigration  from  the  three 
principal  countries  of  emigration,  except  in  1881,  when  the  Jewish  im- 
migration from  Austria-Hungary  would  have  exceeded  that  from 
Russia. 

1  Jewish  Encyclopedia:  "Migration,"  vol.  viii,  p.  584. 

Ibid.,  "  Russia  " — Emigration,  vol.  x,  p.  547. 


92          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [508 

latter  figures  of  which  included  Russian  Jews  as  well  as 
those  of  other  nativities),  thereby  doubling  the  number  of 
Russian  Jewish  immigrants  for  this  period.  The  result  has 
been  to  more  than  triple  the  numbers  of  the  Jewish  immi- 
grants. These  figures  have  been  widely  used  and  quoted, 
and  have  generally  created  the  impression  of  a  Jewish  im- 
migration larger  by  several  hundred  thousands  than  is 
really  the  case.1 

The  results  of  the  foregoing  are  summarized  in  Table 
VI,  which  gives  the  number  of  Jewish  immigrants  arriving 
in  each  of  the  thirty  years  from  1881  to  1910,  and  the  prin- 
cipal countries  of  nativity  of  these  immigrants.  We  are 
thus  in  a  position  closely  to*  study  the  movement  of  Jewish 
immigration  for  practically  the  entire  period  since  it  became 
a  significant  part  of  the  recent  immigration  to  the  United 
States,  and  thereby  to  throw  light  upon  the  character  of 
this  movement,  in  itself  and  as  a  part  of  the  general  immi- 
gration. 

1  Ruppin  uses  these  figures  in  Die  Sozialen  Verh'dltnisse  der  Juden 
in  Russland,  p.  n. 

Hersch,  (Le  juif  errant  d'aujourd'hui},  subjects  the  figures  given  in 
the  Jewish  Encyclopedia  to  a  thorough  analysis  and  shows  their  ab- 
surdity. Unaware,  however,  of  the  nature  of  the  error  committed 
by  the  writer  and  of  the  existence  of  authoritative  sources  for  the 
figures  of  Jewish  immigration,  he  drew  the  conclusion  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  obtain  any  really  accurate  figures  of  Jewish  immigration 
before  1899.  This  leads  him  into  serious  errors  owing  to  the  fact  that 
he  discusses  the  movement  of  Jewish  immigration  from  the  basis  of 
the  twelve  years  from  1899  to  1910,  representing  the  height  of  the 
movement,  instead  of  for  the  entire  period  of  thirty  years.  This 
vitiates  his  principal  conclusions  regarding  the  character  of  the  Jewish 
movement  to  this  country.  Particularly  noticeable  is  his  neglect  of  the 
phenomena  presented  by  the  Russian  and  Roumanian  movements  and 
his  elevation  of  the  movement  from  Austria-Hungary  as  the  type  of 
Jewish  immigration  to  this  country. 


509]  NUMBER  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS 

TABLE  VI 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES,   l88l  TO   IQIO 


93 


Year 

Russia 

Hungary 

mania 

Kingdom 

many   N.  A. 

key 

France 

Others 

Total 

1881 

3125 

2537 

30 

5692 

1882 

10489 

2648 

65 

13202 

1883 

6144 

2510 

77 

8731 

1884 

7867 

3340 

238 

H445 

1885 

10648 

3938 

803 

1473 

16862 

1886 

14092 

5326 

518 

983 

254 

2II73 

1887 

23103 

6898 

2063 

780 

2OO 

33044 

1888 

20216 

5985 

1653 

727 

300 

28881 

1889 

18338 

4998 

1058 

758 

2OO 

25352 

1890 

20981 

6439 

462 

633 

I24 

28639 

1891 

43457 

5890 

854 

636 

56l 

51398 

1892 

64253 

8643 

740 

1787 

950 

76373 

1893 

25161 

6363 

555 

1814 

1429 

35322 

1894 

20747 

5916 

616 

IIO9 

791 

29179 

1895 

16727 

6047 

5i8 

1028 

1871 

26191 

1896 

20168 

9831 

744 

829 

1276 

32848 

1897 

13063 

5672 

5i6 

586 

535 

20372 

1898 

14949 

7367 

720 

296 

322 

23654 

1899 

24275 

II07I 

1343 

174 

405    5 

8l 

9 

52 

37415 

1900 

3701  1 

16920 

6183 

133 

337 

114 

17 

49 

60764 

I9OI 

3766o 

13006 

6827 

1  10 

272 

154 

20 

49 

58098 

1902 

37846 

12848 

6589 

55 

182 

138 

9 

21 

57688 

1903 

47689 

18759 

8562 

420 

477 

211 

ii 

74 

76203 

1904 

77544 

2O2II 

6446 

817 

669    8 

313 

32 

196 

106236 

1905 

92388 

17352 

3854 

14299 

734   ii 

173 

327 

772 

I299IO 

1906 

125234 

14884 

3872 

6113 

979   429 

461 

479 

1297 

153748 

1907 

H4937 

18885 

3605 

7032 

734  1818 

918 

306 

952 

149182 

I008 

71978 

15293 

4455 

6260 

869  2393 

635 

425 

1079 

I033871 

1909 

39150 

8431 

1390 

3385 

652  2780 

690 

325 

748 

5755I1 

I9IO 

59824 

I3I42 

1701 

4098 

705  2262 

1388 

339 

801 

84260! 

Total    1119059    281150    67057    42896   20454   97o6    5276   2299    14903    1562800 

1  From  1908  immigrants  were  classified  in  the  reports  of  the  Commissioner- 
General  of  Immigration  as  "immigrant  aliens,"  those  intending  to  reside 
permanently  in  the  United  States  and  "  non-immigrant  aliens,"  those  making 
a  temporary  trip  to  the  United  States.  In  the  figures  of  1008,  1909  and  1910, 
only  the  "  immigrant  aliens  "  are  considered. 


94          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [$lo 

TABLE  VII 

PERCENTAGE  OF   ANNUAL   JEWISH    IMMIGRATION    TO  THE   UNITED    STATES     CONTRI- 
BUTED BY  EACH  COUNTRY  OF  NATIVITY,   l88l  TO  IpIO 


Austria- 

Ron- 

United 

Ger-       Brit. 

Tur- 

All 

Year 

Russia 

Hungary 

mania 

Kingdom 

many     N.  A. 

key 

France    Others 

Total 

1881 

54.8 

447 

0-5 

lOOiO 

1882 

79-5 

20.1 

0.4 

IOO.O 

1883 

70.4 

28.7 

0.9 

100.0 

1884 

68.7 

29.2 

2.1 

IOO.O 

1885 

63,1 

234 

4.8 

8.7 

IOO.O 

1886 

66.6 

25-2 

2.4 

4.6 

1.2 

IOO.O 

1887 

69.9 

20.8 

6-3 

2.4 

.6 

IOO.O 

1888 

70.0 

20.7 

5-7 

2.5 

I.I 

IOO.O 

1889 

72.3 

19.7 

4.2 

3-0 

.8 

IOO.O 

1890 

73-3 

22.5 

1.6 

2.2 

-4 

IOO.O 

1891 

84.6 

II-5 

1.6 

1.2 

i.i 

IOO.O 

1892 

84.1 

U.3 

i.i 

2.2 

1.3 

IOO.O 

1893 

71.2 

18.0 

1.6 

5.i 

4-1 

IOO.O 

1894 

71.1 

20.3 

2.1 

3-8 

2.7 

IOO.O 

1895 

63.9 

23.1 

2.O 

3.9 

7-1 

IOO.O 

1896 

61.4 

29.9' 

2-3 

2-5 

3-9 

IOO.O 

1897 

64.1 

27.9 

2-5 

2.9 

2.6 

IOO.O 

1898 

63.2 

3i.i 

3-0 

1.3 

1.4 

IOO.O 

1899 

64.9 

29-5 

3.6 

•5 

i.i 

4 

IOO.O 

1900 

60.9 

27.8 

IO.2 

.2 

.6 

.3 

IOO.O 

1901 

64.8 

22.4 

11.8 

.2 

•5 

.2 

.1 

IOO.O 

1902 

65.6 

22.3 

11.4 

.1 

•3 

.2 

.1 

IOO.O 

1903 

62.6 

24.6 

II.2 

.6 

.6 

•3 

.1 

IOO.O 

1904 

73-0 

19.0 

6.1 

.8 

.6 

•3 

.2 

IOO.O 

1905 

71.1 

13-4 

3-0 

II.O 

.6 

.1 

.2             .6 

IOO.O 

1906 

81.5 

9-7 

2.5 

4.0 

.6         .3 

•3 

.3         .8 

IOO.O 

1907 

77-1 

12.7 

2.4 

4.7 

.5        1.2 

.6 

.2             .6 

IOO.O 

1908 

69.6 

14.8 

4-3 

6.1 

.8       2.3 

.6 

.4        i.i 

IOO.O 

1909 

68.0 

14.7 

2.4 

5-9 

1.2           4.7 

1.2 

.6        1.3 

IOO.O 

1910 

71.1 

15-6 

2.0 

4.9 

.8       2.7 

1.6 

4          .9 

IOO.O 

Total      71.6       17.9         4.3         2.8       1.3       0.6        0.3       0.2        i.o        100.0 


CHAPTER  II 
IMMIGRATION  OF  JEWS  FROM  EASTERN  EUROPE 

IN  the  thirty  years  between  1881  and  1910,  1,562,800 
Jews  entered  the  United  States.  An  examination  of  Tables 
VI  and  VII  reveals  the  fact  that  the  great  majority  of 
the  immigrants  came  from  Russia,  Austria-Hungary  and 
Roumania.  Of  the  total  number,  Russia  contributed  1,119,- 
059  immigrants,  or  71.6  per  cent;  Austria-Hungary  281,150 
immigrants,  or  17.9  per  cent,  and  Roumania  67,057  immi- 
grants, or  4.3  per  cent.  Together  these  three  countries 
contributed  93.8  per  cent  of  the  total  for  the  thirty  years. 
The  great  majority  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  from  the 
United  Kingdom  and  British  North  America  are  not  Eng- 
lish or  Canadian  Jews  but  transmigrants  or  transient  East- 
European  Jews,  to  whom  England  and  Canada  were  a  half- 
way house  from  the  countries  of  Eastern  Europe  to  the 
United  States.1  If  we  included  these  immigrants,  the  Jew- 
ish immigration  from  these  three  countries  of  Eastern 
Europe  would  be  considerably  above  95  per  cent.  The 
Jewish  immigration  of  the  last  third  of  a  century  is  thus 
practically  wholly  from  Eastern  Europe. 

Summarizing  the  results  for  the  three  decades,2  we  find 
that  the  Jewish  immigrants  from  Russia  maintained  a 
fairly  constant  proportion  to  the  total  Jewish  immigration, 
contributing  135,003,  in  the  decade  between  1881  and  1890 
or  69.9  per  cent  of  the  total  for  the  decade,  279,811  or  71.1 

1  Landa,  The  Alien  Problem  and  its  Remedy,  pp.  54-57- 

2  Cf.  table  VIII,  p.  162. 

503]  95 


96          JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [512 

per  cent  in  the  decade  between  1891  and  1900,  and  704,245, 
or  72.1  per  cent,  in  the  decade  between  1901  and  1910. 

Roumanian  Jewish  immigration  was  relatively  smaller  in 
the  earlier  decades,  numbering  6,967  in  the  first,  12,789  in 
the  second  decade,  comprising  3.2  per  cent  and  3.6  per  cent, 
respectively,  of  the  total,  and  in  the  last  decade,  numbering 
47,301  and  constituting  4.8  per  cent  of  the  total  immigra- 
tion of  the  decade. 

The  Jewish  immigration  from  Austria-Hungary  bore  a 
proportion  to  the  total  higher  in  the  first  two  decades,  con- 
tributing 44,619  immigrants  in  the  first  decade  and  83,720 
immigrants  in  the  second  decade,  or  23.1  per  cent  and  21.3 
per  cent,  respectively,  of  the  total,  and  152,810  immigrants, 
or  15.7  per  cent,  in  the  last  decade. 

The  Jewish  immigrants  from  the  United  Kingdom  and 
British  North  America,  which,  in  the  first  two  decades  con- 
stituting less  than  one  per  cent  of  the  total  of  each  decade, 
were  included  in  the  rubric  "  all  others  ",  rose  in  the  last 
decade  to  42,589,  constituting  4.4  per  cent,  and  to  9,701, 
constituting  one  per  cent,  of  the  total  of  this  decade. 

An  examination  of  the  yearly  contributions  made  by  the 
Jews  of  the  principal  countries  *  shows  that  the  immigrants 
from  Russia  formed  the  majority  of  the  immigrants  for 
each  year  of  the  entire  period,  and  as  a  rule,  did  not  deviate) 
far  from  the  general  proportion  established  for  the  thirty 
years.  The  greatest  increases  occurred  during  the  years 
of  maximum  Jewish  immigration,  in  1882,  1891,  1892  and 
1906,  when  the  Russian  Jewish  immigrants  constituted  four- 
fifths  or  more  of  the  total  for  the  year. 

The  immigrants  from  Roumania  showed  higher  per- 
centages than  their  average  in  1887  and  in  1888,  and  a  re- 
markable increase  of  their  contribution  from  1900  to  1903, 

i  Cf.  tables  VI  and  VII,  pp.  93-94- 


513]  JEWS  FROM  EASTERN  EUROPE  97 

in  which  years  they  constituted  more  than  a  tenth  of  the 
total  number  of  immigrants. 

The  immigrants  from  Austria-Hungary  formed,  on  the 
average,  less  than  one-fifth  of  the  total,  but  varied 
considerably  in  their  proportions.  In  general,  they  main- 
tained a  rate  higher  than  their  average  during  the  earlier 
years  of  their  movement.  In  the  later  years  they  showed 
a  relative  decline,  especially  during  the  last  decade,  owing 
to  the  greater  relative  increase  of  the  Jewish  immigration 
from  Russia  and  Roumania,  though  their  absolute  num- 
bers increased  greatly  during  this  period.  Their  highest 
ratios  of  contribution  were  made  from  1883  to  Z886  and 
from  1896  to  1900,  the  latter  period  marking  their  maxi- 
mum relative  contributions. 

The  influence  of  the  Russian  Jewish  immigration  is  thus 
paramount.  It  dominates  and  controls  the  entire  move- 
ment, owing  to  its  great  preponderance  of  numbers.  To  a 
closer  consideration  of  its  movement  we  shall  now  turn. 


CHAPTER  III 
IMMIGRATION  OF  JEWS  FROM  RUSSIA 

THE  \nass-mo  vement  of  the  Russian  Jews  to  the  United 
States  began  in  the  first  year  of  Alexander  Ill's  reign. 
Though  in  this  year  the  number  of  Russian  Jews  entering 
this  country  amounted  to  a  little  over  three  thousand,  the 
immigration  grew  so  rapidly  and  in  such  proportions  that 
at  the  end  of  thirty  years,  more  than  a  million  Russian  Jews 
had  been  admitted  to  the  United  States. 

An  examination  of  the  figures  of  the  Russian  Jewish 
immigration  for  the  thirty  years1  reveals  that  it  is  a 
movement  of  steady  growth.  The  Russian  Jewish  im- 
migration falls  practically  into  two  periods;  the  first 
culminating  in  1892,  the  second  culminating  in  1906.  Con- 
sidering it  by  decades,2  we  find  that  the  movement  is 
one  of  geometrical  progression.  In  the  first  decade,  from 
1 88 1  to  1890,  135,003  Russian  Jews  entered  the  country, 
1 2.  i  per  cent  of  the  total  Russian  Jewish  immigrants.  Be- 
tween 1891  and  1900,  279,811  Russian  Jews  entered,  con- 
stituting 25.0  per  cent  of  the  total.  In  the  last  decade,  from 
1901  to  1910,  there  entered  704,245  Russian  Jews,  or  62.9 
per  cent  of  the  total. 

The  annual  variations  are,  nevertheless,  considerable  and 
largely  explainable  by  the  special  conditions  in  Russia  that 
have  influenced  the  lives  of  the  Jews  throughout  this  period. 
At  the  beginning  of  this  period,  in  1881,  the  immigration 
of  Russian  Jews  was  small.  The  pogroms  of  1881-2  were 

i  Cf.  table  IX,  p.  162.  2  Cf.  table  X,  p.  163. 

98  [514 


515]  IMMIGRATION  OF  JEWS  FROM  RUSSIA  99 

reflected  in  the  sudden  rise  in  1882  to  10,489  immigrants, 
more  than  three  times  the  number  of  the  preceding  year. 
The  immigration  of  this  year  was  rather  a  flight  than  a 
normal  movement.  The  great  majority  of  the  immigrants 
were  refugees,  fleeing  from  massacre  and  pillage.1 

In  this  year  Russian  Jewish  immigration  began  its  up- 
ward course.  Another  high  point  was  reached  in  1887  with 
23,103  immigrants,  when  the  educational  restrictions  and 
the  expulsions  that  followed  a  strict  application  of  the  May 
Laws  indicated  a  renewal  of  the  policy  of  the  Russian  gov- 
ernment. 

The  rumors  of  new  restrictions  that  marked  the  begin- 
ning of  the  nineties,  and  the  opening  of  the  second  decade 
of  Alexander  Ill's  reign,  were  followed  by  the  wholesale 
expulsions  from  Moscow.  The  immigration  in  1891  of 
43,457  and  in  1892  of  64,253  Russian  Jews — the  latter  the 
highest  number  reached  in  two  decades — reflects  this  situa- 
tion. Nearly  a  tenth  of  the  total  immigration  entered  in 
these  two  years. 

The  direct  effect  of  the  administrative  activity  of  this 
year  and  especially  of  the  Moscow  expulsions  upon  the) 
Russian  Jewish  immigration  is  seen  in  the  number  of 
Russian  Jews  who  entered  New  York  during  the  months 
closely  following  these  expulsions.2  For  the  first  five 
months  of  1891,  the  immigration  averaged  approximately 
2,300,  evidently  a  normal  figure  for  this  decade.  It 
reached  its  lowest  in  May,  when  1,225  Jews  entered  the 
country.  In  June,  two  months  after  the  order  of  expul- 
sion, the  number  of  immigrants  jumped  to  8,667 — a  s^x~ 
fold  increase — which  up  to  this  year  was  the  largest  num- 
ber of  Russian  Jews  entering  this  country  in  one  month. 

1  Sulzberger,  The  Beginnings  of  Russo- Jewish  Immigration  to  Phila- 
delphia (Philadelphia,  1910),  pp.  125-150. 

2  Cf.  table  XI,  p.  163. 


I0o        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES 

This  figure  was  surpassed  in  the  immigration  of  August 
and  September.  Out  of  a  total  of  60,261  Russian  Jews 
who  entered  in  1891,  11,449  came  the  first  five  months 
from  January  to  May,  and  40,706,  or  more  than  three 
times  the  previous  immigration,  came  the  next  five 
months  from  June  to  October.  The  following  five  months 
there  came  only  16,832,  less  than  half  the  number  of  immi- 
grants of  the  months  of  June  to  October.  And,  finally,  tak- 
ing the  year  as  a  whole,  there  came  over  60,261  Russian 
Jews  in  1891,  the  year  of  the  Moscow  expulsions,  as  com- 
pared with  the  28,834  Russian  Jews  who  entered  in  1892, 
when  no  exceptional  circumstances  occurred  to  affect  their 
immigration  tendency. 

The  six  years  from  1893  to  ^98  were  relatively  mild 
years  for  the  Russian  Jews,  The  change  of  rulers  in  Russia 
and  the  comparatively  lenient  attitude  shown  by  Nicholas  II 
toward  the  Jews  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign  resulted  in  a 
less  stringent  administration  of  the  special  Jewish  laws. 
The  financial  depression  in  the  United  States  which  began 
in  1893  and  embraced  this  period,  was  an  additional  influ- 
ence in  diminishing  the  flow  of  Russian  Jewish  immigrants. 
The  fall,  however,  was  not  as  large  as  the  existence  of  un- 
favorable economic  conditions  in  this  country  might  lead 
one  to  expect.  For  in  spite  of  it,  Russian  Jewish  immigra- 
tion resumed  the  rate  it  maintained  in  the  years  before  1891. 
From  1893  to  I^9^  there  entered  this  country  110,815  Rus- 
sian Jews  as  against  the  107,378  Russian  Jews  who  entered 
in  the  six  years  from  1885  to  1890. 

Another  rise  began  in  1899.  Economic  depression,  revo- 
lutionary terrorism  and  anti-Jewish  propaganda  paved  the 
way  for  a  great  inpouring  of  Russian  Jews  to  the  United 
States.  The  Kishineff  massacre  of  1903  sent  thousands  of 
,  Jews  in  veritable  flight  to  the  United  States,  a  fact  which  is 
reflected  in  an  immigration  of  77,544  Russian  Jews  in  1904, 


517]  IMMIGRATION  OF  JEWS  FROM  RUSSIA  IOI 

the  greatest  number  up  to  this  year.  With  the  beginning 
of  the  Russo-Japanese  war,  the  outbreak  of  the  revo- 
lution and,  above  all,  of  the  Jewish  massacres  the  im- 
migration rose  in  1905  to  92,388.  In  1906,  a  year 
of  pogroms,  it  reached  the  number  of  125,234,  the 
highest  in  the  entire  period — and  in  1907,  114,932, 
the  second  largest  immigration.  The  diminution  in  the 
numbers  in  1908  reflects  largely  the  relative  change  for  the 
better  that  took  place  in  the  situation  in  Russia,  with  the 
beginning  of  parliamentary  government,  as  well  as  the 
panic  conditions  in  the  United  States  of  the  preceding  year. 
How  great  still  was  the  impulse  to  leave  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  in  spite  of  the  panic  of  1907,  the  number  of  immi- 
grants for  1908  was  71,978.  The  great  rise  of  the  immi- 
gration from  the  United  Kingdom  during  these  years  was 
also  due  to  the  number  of  Russian  Jews  that  came  to  the 
United  States  by  way  of  England.  In  all,  during  these  five 
years  which  form  an  epoch  in  contemporary  Russian  Jew- 
ish history,  there  streamed  into  the  United  States  half  a 
million  Russian  Jews,  constituting  more  than  two-fifths  of 
the  total  immigration  for  the  entire  thirty  years. 

Of  special  significance  is  the  part  the  Jewish  immigrants i 
play  in  the  total  Russian  immigration  to  the  United  States.1 
By  far  the  largest  group  of  immigrants  coming  from 
Russia  are  Jews.  For  the  entire  thirty  years  they  consti- 
tuted 48.3  per  cent  of  the  total  Russian  immigration. 

As  a  general  rule,  the  proportion  of  the  Jewish  in  the 
total  Russian  immigration  rises  during  the  critical  periods 
of  these  thirty  years.  Thus  in  1891,  the  year  of  the  Mos- 
cow expulsions,  the  Jewish  immigrants  constituted  91.6  per 
cent  of  the  total  immigration  from  Russia,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year,  under  the  same  influences,  78.8  per  cent.  The 

i  Cf.  table  XII,  p.  164. 


102        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES 

years  1886  and  1887  are  also  signalized  by  the  great  propor- 
tion of  the  Jewish  immigrants,  who  formed  79.2  per  cent 
and  75.1  per  cent,  respectively,  of  the  total  Russian  immi- 
gration for  these  years.  In  the  last  decade,  when  the  Jew- 
ish participation  in  the  total  immigration  had  become  rela- 
tively lessened,  the  three  years  which  represented  the  climax 
of  the  movement,  1904,  1905  and  1906,  show  a  higher  tela- 
tive  proportion,  53.4  per  cent,  50  per  cent  and  58.1  per  cent, 
respectively,  than  the  average  for  the  decade  or  for  the  en- 
tire period. 

Considering  the  proportions  by  decades,1  we  find  that 
of  the  total  of  213,282  Russian  immigrants  entering 
in  the  decade  from  1881  to  1890,  the  Jewish  immi- 
grants contributed  135,003',  or  63.3  per  cent.  Of  a 
total  of  505,280  Russian  immigrants  in  the  decade 
from  1891  to  1900,  the  Jewish  immigrants  numbered 
279,811,  or  55.4  per  cent.  In  the  last  decade,  from 
1901  to  1910,  of  a  total  of  1,597.306  Russian  immi- 
grants, the  Jewish  immigrants  were  704,245,  or  44.1  per 
cent.  The  diminishing  importance  of  the  Jewish  in  the 
total  Russian  immigration,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
former  shows  so  great  an  increase,  is  due  to  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  immigration  tendency  among  the  other  races 
in  Russia,  especially  in  the  last  decade. 

Nevertheless,  a  closer  examination  of  the  relative  partici- 
pation by  the  various  peoples  of  Russia  in  the  immigration 
from  that  country  from  1899  to  T910  2  shows  that  the  Jews 
maintain  their  position  of  predominance,  contributing  a 
larger  proportion  to  the  total  Russian  immigration  than  any 
other  people  throughout  this  period,  except  in  1910,  when 
the  Poles  contributed  a  slightly  higher  proportion  to  the 
immigration  of  that  year.  The  Polish  contribution  is  next 

i  Cf.  table  XIII,  p.  164.  2  Cf.  table  XIV,  p.  165. 


5!9]  IMMIGRATION  OF  JEWS  FROM  RUSSIA  103 

to  that  of  the  Jews,  attaining  its  maximum  at  a  point  where 
the  Jewish  immigration  is  at  its  lowest,  relatively,  in  the 
twelve  years. 

The  preceding  sufficiently  indicates  the  abnormal  extent 
of  the  Russian  Jewish  immigration  but  its  intensity  may  be 
judged  further  from  the  fact  that  though  the  Jews  in  Russia 
were  less  than  one-twentieth  of  the  total  Russian  popula- 
tion, they  formed  nearly  half  of  the  Russian  immigrants  to 
the  United  States.  In  other  words,  they  were  represented 
in  the  Russian  immigration  by  more  than  eleven  times  their 
proportion  in  the  Russian  population.  As,  however,  the 
emigration  movement  of  the  Russians  proper  is  directed 
chiefly  to  Siberia,  we  may  limit  the  comparison  to  the  Pale, 
where  the  Jews  are  overwhelmingly  concentrated,  and  where 
they  constitute  more  than  a  tenth  of  the  total  population. 
Even  with  this  limitation  they  were  represented  in  the  immi- 
gration to  the  United  States  by  more  than  four  times  their 
proportion  of  the  population. 

Another  method  of  judging  the  degree  of  intensity  of  the 
Russian  Jewish  movement  is  to  compare  the  proportion  the 
number  of  Jewish  immigrants  for  a  period  bears  to 
the  total  Jewish  population  in  Russia — their  rate  of 
immigration — with  that  of  the  other  Russian  peoples 
represented  in  the  immigration  to  the  United  States. 
The  rate  of  immigration  of  the  Jews  is  by  far  the  highest 
among  the  peoples  of  Russia.  From  1899  to  I9I°  tne  Jew~ 
ism  immigrants  to  the  United  States  constituted  on  the  aver- 
age one  out  of  every  79  of  the  Jewish  population  in  Russia. 
The  Finnish  immigrants  constituted  one  out  of  every  191 
Finns,  the  Polish  immigrants  one  out  of  every  200  Poles, 
and  the  Russian  immigrants  proper  one  out  of  every  11.552 
of  the  Russian  population.  The  relative  position  of  the  Jews 

1  Cf.  table  XV,  p.  165. 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [520 

is  thus  strikingly  indicated.  The  rate  of  immigration  truly: 
becomes  an  index  of  the  economic  and  social  pressure  tov 
which  the  Jews  have  been  subjected  for  a  third  of  a  century.  1 
This  rate  of  immigration  for  the  Jews,  moreover,  shows 
large  fluctuations  in  the  twelve  years  from  1899  to  I9IO.1 
Of  every  10,000  Jews  in  Russia  there  came  to  this  country 
on  the  average  for  the  twelve  years  from  1899  to  1910,  125 
Jews.  From  1899  to  1903  the  annual  rate  of  immigration 
was  much  lower  than  the  average.  In  1904,  with  the  begin- 
ning of  the  critical  years,  the  annual  rate  rose  to  152,  and 
in  1905,  to  181.  It  reached  its  climax  in  1906,  with  246, 
almost  twice  as  large  as  the  average  for  the  entire  period. 
It  fell  slightly  below  this  in  1907  with  226.  In  1908,  there 
was  a  great  fall  to  141,  though  the  rate  was  still  above  the 
average  for  the  period. 

The  movement  of  the  Russian  Jews  to  this  country  in  the 
last  thirty  years  is  seen  to  be  steadily  rising  and  to  reach 
enormous  dimensions  in  the  last  decade.  The  Jews  are 
more  largely  represented  in  the  movement  from  Russia 
than  any  other  people,  and  predominate  practically  for  the 
entire  thirty  years.  The  rate  of  immigration  is  abnormally 
high,  as  compared  with  that  of  any  other  of  the  immigrant 
races  from  Russia.  For  the  most  part  the  Russian  Jewish 
immigration  reflects  the  unusual  situation  confronting  the 
Jews  in  Russia. 

1  Cf.  table  XVI,  p.  166. 


CHAPTER  IV 

IMMIGRATION  OF  JEWS  FROM  ROUMANIA 

THE  immigration  of  Roumanian  Jews  to  the  United 
States  began  as  a  small  stream  at  the  end  of  the  sixties,  and 
assumed  significant  dimensions  in  the  eighties.  Two  im- 
portant periods  of  rising  immigration  are  clearly  distin- 
guishable. The  first  period  attains  its  maximum  between 
1885  and  1889.  The  second  attains  its  maximum  and  that 
of  the  entire  movement  between  1900  and  1904. 

In  the  thirty  years  between  1881  and  1910,  67,057  immi- 
grants entered  the  United  States.1  In  the  first  decade,  6,967 
immigrants,  or  10.4  per  cent  of  the  total,  arrived.  In  the 
second  decade,  12,789  immigrants  arrived,  or  19.1  per  cent 
of  the  total.  The  great  majority,  47,301  immigrants,  or 
70.5  per  cent  of  the  total,  arrived  in  the  last  decade,  more 
than  twice  as  many  as  had  arrived  in  the  two  preceding 
decades.  The  Roumanian  Jews  thus  began  to  take  a  signifi- 
cant part  in  the  Jewish  movement  only  within  the  last 
decade. 

The  annual  variations  are  closely  connected  with  the  con- 
ditions in  Roumania  which  have  been  previously  discussed.8 
The  rise  in  1885  to  803  immigrants,  the  first  number  of  any 
consequence,  reflects  the  measures  taken  in  Roumania  to 
restrict  the  economic  activity  of  the  Jews,  chiefly  through 
the  hawkers'  law  of  1884.  The  continuation  of  the  admin- 
istrative activities  against  the  Jews,  the  expulsion  of  many 

i  Cf.  table  XVII,  p.  166.  2  Cf.  table  XVIII,  p.  167. 

52i]  105 


I06        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [522 

from  the  villages,  and  particularly  the  beginning  in  earnest 
of  the  attempt  to  drive  them  from  industry  and  commerce, 
by  the  law  of  1887,  are  responsible  for  the  wholesale  exodus 
in  that  and  the  following  two  years.  In  these  three  years 
more  than  7  per  cent  of  the  total  Roumanian  Jewish  immi- 
gration entered  the  country. 

After  1889  and  for  nearly  a  decade  the  immigration  of 
Jews  from  Roumania  subsided,  resuming  the  proportions 
established  before  1887. 

Another  rise  began  in  1899.  In  1900,  the  Roumanian 
Jewish  immigration  reached  the  relatively  great  number  of 
6,183,  around  which  point  it  stood  for  the  next  two  years. 
In  1903,  it  reached  its  maximum  with  an  immigration  of 
8,562  Jews,  one-eighth  of  the  entire  Roumanian  Jewish  im- 
migration for  the  thirty  years.  In  the  following  year  the 
immigration  still  held  to  the  high  numbers  reached  before 
1903.  The  years  following  1904  show  a  fall  to  less  than 
4,000,  which  was  interrupted  in  1908,  when  the  immigration 
rose  to  4,455.  In  1909,  a  sharp  fall  ensued  to  1,390,  and 
in  1910  to  1,701. 

The  great  rise  from  1900  to  1904,  during  which  period 
there  came  more  than  half  of  the  total  number  of  Jewish 
immigrants  from  Roumania,  was  largely  due  to  the  resump- 
tion of  the  government  program  against  the  Jews.  The  chief 
form  of  restriction  was  the  passing  of  the  Artisans'  Law 
in  1902,  preceded  by  some  years  of  agitation  and  adminis- 
trative activity  directed  against  the  Jews,  which  aimed  to 
make  it  impossible  for  the  Jewish  artisans  to  secure  work. 
The  feeling  that  the  Jews  had  nothing  to  hope  from  the 
government,  as  much  as  the  actual  distress  occasioned,  was 
largely  responsible  for  the  unprecedented  immigration.1 

1  In  the  Century  of  Nov.,  1913,  Professor  Ross,  writing  on  "The 
Old  World  in  the  New/'  remarks  (p.  28)  that  "  the  emigration  of 
50,000  Roumanian  Jews  between  January  and  August,  1900,  was 


523]        IMMIGRATION  OF  JEWS  FROM  ROUMANIA 

The  Jewish  forms  so  large  a  part  of  the  Roumanian  im- 
migration as  to  be  practically  synonymous  with  it.  As  we 
have  before  noted,  the  figures  obtained  •  from  the  Jewish 
sources  indicate  a  larger  immigration  from  1886  to  1898 
on  the  part  of  the  Jews  alone  than  the  official  figures  give 
for  the  entire  immigration  from  Roumania  for  this  period. 
Confining  our  attention  to  the  figures  of  immigration  from 
1899  to  19  lo,1  we  find  that,  from  1899  to  1910,  of  the 
61,073  immigrants  from  Roumania  who  entered  the  United 
States,  54,827,  or  89.8  per  cent,  were  Jews.  Thus  prac- 
tically nine-tenths  of  the  immigrants  from  Roumania  are 
Jews.  In  the  five  years  in  which  the  Jewish  movement  was 
at  its  height,  the  Jews  constituted  from  91  per  cent  to  95.7 
per  cent  of  the  Roumanian  immigration.  The  immigration 

brought  about  by  steamship  agents  who  created  great  excitement  in 
Roumania  by  distributing  glowing  circulars  about  America." 

It  is  remarkable  that  with  so  large  an  emigration  of  Roumanian 
Jews  during  these  eight  months,  ostensibly  directed  to  America,  only 
6183  Roumanian  Jews  were  recorded  as  arriving  in  the  United  States 
in  1900,  and  only  6,827  in  1901.  In  the  twelve  years  from  1899  to 
1910,  Professor  Ross's  figure  is  approached;  for  the  entire  period 
54,827  Roumanian  Jews  are  officially  recorded  as  entering  the  United 
States. 

Even  of  the  relatively  large  immigration  of  Jews  from  Roumania 
in  1900,  the  cause  clearly  was  not  the  activity  of  steamship  agents. 
Compare  the  report  of  the  president  of  the  United  Hebrew  Charities, 
keenly  alive  to  the  problems  presented  to  the  American  Jews  by  the 
Jewish  immigration : 

"  The  last  few  months  have  been  noteworthy  in  the  history  of  the 
Jewish  race  for  an  outbreak  of  Anti-Semitism  in  a  far-away  country, 
the  far-reaching  effects  of  which  have  been  keenly  felt  in  this  city.  I 
refer  of  course,  to  the  persecutions  of  the  Jews  in  Roumania.  A  small 
group  of  Jewish  philanthropists  of  this  city  (under  the  direction  of  the 
IOOB)  has  taken  up  the  task  of  providing  for  the  newcomers."  Such 
a  response  is  not  usually  given  to  immigrants  lured  to  this  country 
by  promises  of  gain. 

United  Hebrew  Charities  of  New  York  City,  Oct.,  1900,  p.  19. 

i  Cf.  table  XIX,  p.  168. 


I0g        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [524 

of  other  peoples  from  Roumania  is  insignificant.  The  high- 
est number  entering  in  any  of  the  twelve  years  amounted 
to  less  than  800. 

Still  more  significant  is  the  intensity  of  immigration  of 
the  Roumanian  Jews,  especially  in  view  of  the  negligible 
number  of  immigrants  from  Roumania  other  than  Jews. 
The  rate  of  immigration  of  the  Roumanian  Jews  is  far 
higher  than  that  even  of  their  Russian  brethren.1  The 
average  annual  immigration  of  Roumanian  Jews,  for  the 
twelve  years,  from  1899  tc  1910,  amounted  to  4,569,  which 
represented  an  average  rate  of  immigration  for  the  Rou- 
manian Jews  of  175  per  10,000  of  the  Jewish  population 
in  Roumania.  In  the  five  years  of  maximum  immigration, 
from  1900  to  1904,  the  rate  was  considerably  higher,  reach- 
ing in  1903  the  enormous  proportion  of  329  immigrants  to 
every  10,000  Jews  in  Roumania.  The  lowest  rate  during 
this  period,  that  of  1900,  was  only  slightly  smaller  than  the 
maximum  rate  approached  by  the  Jewish  immigrants  from 
Russia.  However,  in  the  three  years  which  represented  the 
highest  point  of  the  rate  of  immigration  of  the  Jews  from 
Russia,  from  1905  to  1907,  the  rate  of  immigration  for  the 
corresponding  years  in  Roumania  was  considerably  smaller. 

The  Jewish  immigration  from  Roumania  is  thus  a  pro- 
duct chiefly  of  the  last  decade.  The  rise  in  the  first  decade 
and  the  relatively  tremendous  rise  in  the  last  decade  are  a 
result  largely  of  the  activities  of  the  Roumanian  govern- 
ment. The  vast  majority  of  the  immigrants  from  Rou- 
mania are  Jews,  whose  rate  of  immigration  is  unprece- 
dented. 

1  Cf.  table  XX,  p.  168. 


CHAPTER  V 
IMMIGRATION  OF  JEWS  FROM  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 

THE  immigration  of  Jews  from  Austria-Hungary  began 
before  the  eighties  of  the  last  century,  becoming  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  nineties  a  relatively  strong  and  steady  cur- 
rent. Until  recently,  this  immigration  was  almost  exclu- 
sively from  Galicia.1 

Summarizing  the  movement  by  decades,2  we  find  that 
44,619  Jews,  or  15.9  per  cent  of  the  total,  came  during  the 
decade  from  1881  to  1890;  83,720  immigrants,  or  29.8  per 
cent  of  the  total,  came  during  the  decade  from  1891  to  1900. 
In  the  last  decade,  from  1901  to  1910,  there  entered  152,811 
immigrants,  or  54.3  per  cent  of  the  total.  Thus  there  is  a 
nearly  steady  rise  of  the  movement,  though  it  is  not  as  great 
as  that  found  in  the  Jewish  immigration  from  Russia. 

The  annual  variations  are  also  not  as  large  as  are  found 
in  the  Russian  Jewish  movement.3  The  greatest  number 
that  came  in  any  year  in  the  first  decade  was  in  1887,  when 
6,898  immigrants  arrived,  contributing  2.4  per  cent  of  the 
total  for  the  year.  The  highest  number  that  came  in  the 
second  decade  was  in  1899,  when  11,071  immigrants  ar- 
rived, contributing  3.9  per  cent  of  the  total.  From  this  year 
there  began  a  great  rise  which  reached  its  maximum 
in  1904  with  an  immigration  of  20,211  Jews,  consti- 

1  Buzek,   "  Das   Auswanderungsproblem  in   Oesterreich,"  Zeitschrift 
•fur  Volkswirtschaft,  Sozialpolitik  und  Verwaltung,  p.  458. 

2  Cf.  table  XXI,  p.  169. 

3  Cf.  table  XXII,  p.  169. 

525]  109 


IIO        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [526 

tuting  7.2  per  cent  of  the  total — the  highest  point  attained 
in  the  entire  movement. 

A  comparison  of  the  fluctuations  of  the  Jewish  with  those 
of  the  total  Austro-Hungarian  immigration  shows  that  the 
former  follows  the  general  movement  quite  closely,  though 
there  are  minor  differences  and  the  maximum  periods  of 
both  movements  do  not  coincide.1 

An  examination  of  the  part  the  Jewish  played  in  the  gen- 
eral immigration  from  Austria-Hungary  shows  that  during 
the  entire  period  of  thirty  years  there  entered  into  the 
United  States  from  Austria-Hungary  3,091,692  immigrants, 
to  which  the  Jews  contributed  281,150  immigrants,  or  9.1 
per  cent2  That  the  Jewish  movement  was  relatively 
stronger  in  the  earlier  period  than  the  general  movement 
from  Austria-Hungary  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  Jews 
participate  to  a  much  larger  extent  in  the  movement  of  the 
first  decades  than  in  that  of  the  last  In  the  first  decade, 
from  1881  to  1890,  of  the  353,719  immigrants  from  Aus- 
tria-Hungary, the  Jews  were  44,619,  or  12.6  per  cent  of  the 
total  for  the  decade.  In  the  decade  from  1891  to  1900,  of 
the  592,707  immigrants  they  were  83,720,  or  14.1  per  cent 
of  the  total.  In  the  last  decade,  of  2,145,266  immigrants, 
they  were  158,811,  or  7.4  per  cent  of  the  entire  movement 
The  Jewish  movement  is  thus  seen  to  be  relatively  the 
strongest  in  the  second  decade.  Its  fall  in  the  last  decade  to 
almost  half  the  proportion  of  the  preceding  decade  was  due 
to  the  tremendous  growth  in  the  immigration  of  the  other 
races  from  Austria-Hungary.  Whereas  the  general  move- 
ment nearly  quadrupled  its  numbers  in  the  last  decade,  the 
Jewish  movement  did  not  quite  double  its  numbers. 

The  largest  part  in  the  movement  from  Austria-Hungary 

1  Cf.  table  XXIII,  p.  170. 

2  Cf.  table  XXIV,  p.  170. 


527]        IMMIGRATION  FROM  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  1 1 1 

was  taken  by  the  Jews  during  the  earlier  years.1  The  highest 
point  was  reached  in  1886,  when  the  Jews  constituted  18.6 
per  cent  of  the  total  movement.  In  the  following  year  the 
Jewish  immigrants  constituted  17.1  per  cent.  Other  years  in 
which  the  Jews  participated  strongly  were  1895,  an<^  from 
1897  to  1899.  In  1898  the  second  highest  point  was 
reached,  the  Jews  constituting  18.5  per  cent  of  the  move- 
ment. From  1904  a  great  fall  ensued.  The  lowest  point 
was  reached  in  1909,  when  the  Jews  constituted  only  5  per 
cent  of  the  total  movement. 

A  clearer  idea  of  the  situation  would  be  obtained  if  the 
figures  for  the  years  and  decades  could  be  ascertained  for 
Austria  and  Hungary  separately,  as  the  Jews  in  each  of  the 
divisions  of  the  Dual  Monarchy  differ  considerably  in  their 
immigration  tendency.  Austria  and  Hungary  are  distin- 
guished in  the  immigration  statistics  only  since  1910. 
Nevertheless,  the  three  years  from  1910  to  1912  serve  to 
show  that  the  Jews  from  Austria  immigrate  to  the  United 
States  in  much  larger  numbers  than  their  brethren  in  Hun- 
gary. From  1910  to  1912,  out  of  a  total  of  36,684  Jewish 
immigrants  from  Austria-Hungary,  29,340,  or  fully  four- 
fifths,  came  from  Austria.  The  participation  of  the  Aus- 
trian Jews  in  the  general  movement  is  also  correspondingly 
larger.  From  1910  to  1912,  the  Jewish  immigrants  from 
Austria  numbered  29,340  out  of  a  total  of  303,776,  consti- 
tuting 9.7  per  cent  of  the  total  Austrian  immigration.  For 
the  same  period  the  Jewish  immigrants  from  Hungary  num- 
bered only  7,344  out  of  a  total  of  292,900,  constituting  2.5 
per  cent  of  the  total.  Thus  the  Jews  participate  in  the 
movement  from  Austria  practically  four  times  as  much  as 
in  the  movement  from  Hungary. 

The  relative  position  of  the  Jews  among  the  peoples  im- 

i  Cf.  table  XXIV,  p.  170. 


II2        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [528 

migrating  from  Austria  is  of  interest  in  this  connection. 
The  peoples  with  which  comparison  must  be  maintained 
are  those  concentrated  in  Galicia,  the  chief  source  of  the 
Jewish,  Polish  and  Ruthenian  immigration.1  For  the  seven 
years  between  1899  and  1905,  the  Jewish  immigrants  con- 
stituted the  second  largest  group.  From  1906,  they  fell  into 
the  third  position  (excepting  in  1908),  owing  to  the  rapid 
increase  of  immigration  among  the  Ruthenians. 

The  average  rate  of  immigration  of  the  Jews  of  Austria- 
Hungary  for  the  twelve-year  period  from  1899  t°  Z9IO>  *s 
74  for  every  10,000  Jews  in  the  Empire.2  The  maximum 
rate  was  97,  which  was  reached  in  the  immigration  of  1904. 
In  comparison  with  the  Russian  and  Roumanian  Jewish  im- 
migrants, those  from  Austria-Hungary  have  a  far  lower 
rate  of  immigration.  This  is  true  for  the  average  as  well 
as  for  the  single  years.  However,  in  the  first  two  years, 
1899  and  1900,  the  rate  of  immigration  was  higher  among 
the  Jewish  immigrants  from  Austria-Hungary.  In  com- 
parison with  the  rate  of  immigration  of  the  Poles  and  the 
Ruthenians,  the  Jews  occupy  an  intermediate  position,  hav- 
ing a  lower  rate  than  the  Poles  and  a  higher  rate  than  the 
Ruthenians.3 

The  Jewish  movement  from  Austria-Hungary  thus  shows 
a  fairly  steady  rise,  but  neither  in  its  yearly  variations  nor 
its  rate  of  immigration  does  it  give  evidence  of  any  excep^ 
tional  characteristics. 

1  Cf.  table  XXV,  p.  171. 

2  Cf.  table  XXVI,  p.  171. 

3  Cf.  Hersch,  op.  cit.,  p.  43.     This  comparison  gives  a  lower  rate  of 
immigration  to  the  Jews  than  they  really  possess,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  it  is  based  upon  the  total  Jewish  population  of  Austria-Hungary, 
and  not  upon  that  of  Galicia,  from  which  province  the  great  majority 
-of  the  Jewish  immigrants  come. 


CHAPTER  VI 
TOTAL  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION 

THE  movement  of  the  total  Jewish  immigration  for  the 
thirty  years  becomes  clear  in  the  light  of  the  preceding 
pages.  It  is  a  rising  movement,  divided  into  two  parts,  the 
first  culminating  in  1892  and  the  second  culminating  in 
1906.  Like  the  Russian  Jewish  immigration  which  underlies 
it,  the  movement  is  one  of  geometrical  progression.1  From 
1 88 1  to  1890,193,021  Jewish  immigrants  entered  this  coun- 
try, 12.3  per  cent  of  the  total  Jewish  immigration.  From 
1891  to  1900,  393,516  Jewish  immigrants,  or  25.2  per  cent 
entered.  In  the  last  decade  there  entered  the  enormous 
number  of  976,263  Jewish  immigrants,  representing  62.5 
per  cent  of  the  total  Jewish  immigration  for  the  thirty  years. 
This  was  more  than  twice  as  many  as  had  entered  the  pre- 
ceding decade,  and  more  than  five  times  the  number  of  those 
who  had  entered  the  first  decade.  The  Jewish  immigration 
is  in  its  largest  part  a  product  of  the  last  decade. 

The  rise  has  not,  however,  been  uniformly  steady,  as  a 
division  of  the  entire  period  into  five  six-year  periods 
shows.2  In  the  period  from  1893  to  1898,  there  was  a  fall 
in  the  Jewish  immigration.  This  period  coincides  with  the 
years  of  depression  in  the  United  States  following  the  panic 
of  1893.  The  fall  was  chiefly  due  to  that  in  the  Russian 
Jewish  immigration.  The  Jewish  immigration  from  Aus- 
tria-Hungary on  the  contrary  showed  a  relative  rise.  For 

1  Cf.  table  XXVII,  p.  172. 

2  Cf.  table  XXVIII,  p.  172. 

529]  H3 


II4        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [530 

this  period,  as  well  as  for  a  few  years  before,  the  Roumanian 
Jewish  immigration  contributed  smaller  numbers  than  in 
the  previous  decade.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Russian  Jewish 
movement,  if  we  compare  the  immigration  of  the  six-year 
period  from  1885  to  1890,  with  that  from  1893  to  1898, 
omitting  the  years  1891  and  1892  which  are  influenced  in 
their  great  rise  by  the  exceptional  circumstances  occurring 
within  these  two  years,  we  find  that  the  Jewish  immigration 
was  higher  during  the  latter  period  of  depression  in  the 
United  States  than  during  the  earlier  period,  the  total  num- 
ber of  immigrants  being  167,567  for  the  latter  period,  and 
I53>951  f°r  the  former. 

In  the  period  from  1899  to  1904  there  was  a  great  rise. 
A  quarter  of  the  entire  immigration  came  in  this  period. 
The  largest  number  of  immigrants — more  than  two-fifths 
of  the  total  of  thirty  years — came  in  the  period  from  1905 
to  1910.  If  we  included  the  immigration  of  1904,  which 
properly  belongs  to  the  later  movement,  we  find  that  half 
of  the  entire  Jewish  immigration  came  within  the  seven 
years  from  1904  to  1910. 

The  yearly  variations  of  the  total  Jewish  immigration 
correspond  closely  in  the  main  to  those  of  the  Russian  Jew- 
ish movement.1  The  influence  of  the  other  movements  is, 
however,  felt,  at  times  quite  strongly.  Before  1885  the 
total  Jewish  immigration  was  quite  small;  less  than  10,000 
(except  in  1882)  or  less  than  i  per  cent  of  the  total,  ar- 
rived each  year.  The  rise  of  the  immigration  in  1882  to 
13,202  was  wholly  due  to  the  increase  in  the  number  of 
Russian  Jewish  immigrants.  The  second  half  of  this 
decade  was  marked  by  a  rising  tide  in  the  Jewish  immigra- 
tion from  all  the  countries  of  Eastern  Europe,  which 
reached  a  height  in  1887,  with  an  immigration  of  33,044, 

i  Cf.  table  XXIX,  p.  173. 


53 1  ]  TOTAL  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION 

constituting  more  than  2  per  cent  of  the  total  number. 
This  was  but  a  prelude  to  the  great  rise  at  the  opening  of 
the  second  decade  which  in  1892  reached  the  number  of 
76,373  Jewish  immigrants,  the  highest  number  attained  in 
the  first  two  decades.  The  immigration  for  this  year  alone 
constituted  nearly  one-twentieth  of  the  total  Jewish  immi- 
gration. The  increase  of  these  years  is  due  solely  to  the  in- 
crease in  the  Russian  Jewish  immigration.  From  this  point 
a  fall  ensued,  which  lasted  until  1899.  The  fall  was  strong- 
est in  the  Russian  and  the  Roumanian  movements.  The 
absolute  numbers  and  the  relative  proportions  in  the  Jewish 
movement  from  Austria-Hungary  increased.  The  tre- 
mendous rise  of  the  last  decade  began  in  1899.  In  1900 
the  number  of  Jewish  arrivals  rose  to  60,764.  This  in- 
crease was  general,  though  it  reached  unusual  proportions 
in  the  immigration  from  Roumania. 

The  fall  in  the  next  two  years  was  due  to  a  decrease  in 
the  number  of  immigrants  from  Austria-Hungary.  That 
from  Russia  remained  the  same  as  in  1900,  and  the  Rou- 
manian Jewish  immigration  maintained  the  high  level  es- 
tablished in  that  year. 

The  immigration  of  1903  surpassed  the  great  numbers 
attained  in  1892.  The  rise  of  nearly  20,000  of  this  year 
was  general,  though  relatively  greatest  in  the  Jewish  immi- 
grants from  Austria-Hungary. 

The  next  three  years  marks  the  heights  of  the  move- 
ment. In  1904,  the  30,000  immigrants  which  represented 
the  increase  from  the  preceding  year  were  Russian  Jews. 
This  is  equally  true  of  the  large  increase  of  1905.  In  this 
year  a  fall  took  place  both  in  the  Austrian  and  Roumanian 
Jewish  immigration.  The  Jewish  immigration  from  the 
United  Kingdom  rose  tremendously  from  817  of  the  pre- 
ceding year  to  14,299,*  an  increase  which  reflects  the  influ- 

1  Cf.  table  VI,  p.  93. 


H6        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [532 

ences  of  the  Russian  Jewish  movement  for  this  year,  and 
indicates  that  this  movement  from  the  United  Kingdom 
must  be  considered  as  largely  Russian  Jewish. 

The  year  1906  marked  the  high-water  mark  of  Jewish 
immigration  for  thirty  years.  153,748  immigrants,  prac- 
tically one-tenth  of  the  total  movement,  came  in  this  year. 
As  in  the  preceding  year,  the  increase  in  the  immigration 
from  Russia  (including  the  numbers  from  the  United  King- 
dom) was  the  basis  of  the  increase  in  the  total. 

From  this  point  on  we  have  a  decline.  The  decline  in 
1907  to  149,182  immigrants  reflected  the  decline  in  the 
numbers  of  the  Russian  Jewish  immigrants,  those  from 
Austria-Hungary  increasing.  In  this  year  the  number  of 
immigrants  from  British  North  America  became  conspicu- 
ous. In  1908  the  immigration  fell  to  103,387,  reflecting 
almost  wholly  the  fall  in  the  numbers  of  the  Russian  Jewish 
immigrants.  The  year  1909  marked  a  tremendous  decline 
of  the  Jewish  immigration  to  57,551  immigrants.  This 
decline  was  general,  though  relatively  the  greatest  in  the 
Austro-Hungarian  and  the  Roumanian  immigration. 

A  speedy  recovery  in  numbers  was  shown  in  1910  when 
the  immigration  rose  to  84,260,  recurring  to  the  numbers 
at  the  beginning  of  the  recent  great  rise,  and  higher  than 
the  immigration  of  any  year  before  1904.  The  rise  was 
felt  equally  in  the  Russian  and  Austro-Hungarian  immi- 
gration, relatively  little  in  the  Roumanian. 

Thus  by  far  the  chief  influence  in  the  movement  of  the 
Jewish  immigration  for  these  thirty  years  has  been  the 
Russian  Jewish  immigration.  In  its  growth  of  numbers, 
and  in  its  rise  and  fall,  the  total  Jewish  immigration  of  the 
last  thirty  years  is  a  reflection  of  the  movement  of  the 
Russian  Jews  to  this  country. 


CHAPTER  VII 

PARTICIPATION  OF  JEWS  IN  TOTAL  IMMIGRATION 

WE  turn  now  to  a  consideration  of  the  part  played  by 
the  Jewish  immigration  in  the  total  immigration  to  this 
country  for  these  thirty  years,1  A  general  rise  is  revealed 
in  the  proportions  the  Jewish  bore  to  the  total  immigration. 
In  the  decade  between  1881  and  1890,  of  the  5,246,613 
immigrants,  the  Jewish  immigrants  were  193,021,  or  3.7 
per  cent  of  the  total.  In  the  decade  between  1891  and 
1900,  of  the  3,687,564  immigrants,  the  Jewish  immigrants 
numbered  393,516.  The  Jewish  proportion  of  the  total 
rose  to  10.7  per  cent.  This  really  tremendous  rise  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  while  the  total  number  of  immigrants  fell 
off  one-third  in  this  decade,  the  Jewish  immigrants  doubled 
their  numbers.  It  is  from  this  decade  that  the  Jewish  im- 
migrants become  conspicuous  in  the  immigration  to  the 
United  States.  In  the  decade  between  1901  and  1910,  of 
the  8,795,386  immigrants,  the  Jewish  immigrants  num- 
bered 976,263.  The  proportion  of  the  Jewish  immigrants 
to  the  total  rose  to  n.i  per  cent.  Even  in  this  decade  of 
tremendous  increase  in  the  general  immigration,  the  Jewish 
immigration  rose  at  a  still  greater  rate. 

For  the  entire  period  the  Jewish  immigration  was  8.8  9 
per  cent  of  the  total  immigration.2    This  proportion  was  not 
reached  before  1891.    The  maximum  in  the  first  decade  was 
in  1887,  when  the  Jewish  immigration  constituted  6.7  per 

1  Cf.  table  XXX,  p.  174. 

2  Cf.  table  XXXI,  p.  174. 

533]  117 


Hg        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [534 

cent  of  the  total  for  the  year.  In  1891,  this  proportion  rose 
to  9.2  per  cent.  It  reached  its  highest  point  during  nineteen 
years,  in  1892,  when  the  Jewish  immigrants  constituted  13.2 
per  cent  of  the  total  for  the  year.  Throughout  the  period  of 
depression,  from  1893  to  1898,  the  contribution  of  the  Jew- 
ish to  the  total  immigration  was,  with  two  exceptions, 
above  its  average  for  the  thirty  years.  In  1893,  when  the 
number  of  Jewish  immigrants  fell  to  half  of  that  of  the 
preceding  year,  its  contribution  to  the  total  was  8  per  cent. 
In  1897,  a  year  of  lowest  Jewish  as  well  as  general  immi- 
gration, its  proportion  was  the  same  as  the  average.  In 
the  following  years  the  contribution  of  the  Jewish  immi- 
gration rose  proportionately,  and  in  1900  it  reached  the 
maximum  for  thirty  years,  constituting  13.5  per  cent  of  the 
total  for  the  year.  The  next  highest  proportion  was  reached 
in  the  year  of  maximum  Jewish  immigration,  1906,  when 
the  Jewish  immigrants  represented  13.4  per  cent  of  the 
total  for  the  year.  Throughout  the  years  from  1904  to 
1908,  the  Jewish  immigrants  contributed  above  their  aver- 
age for  the  period.  In  1908,  when  the  numbers  both  of  the 
Jewish  and  the  total  immigration  had  been  greatly  reduced, 
the  Jewish  immigrants  contributed  13.2  per  cent  of  the 
total,  one  of  the  highest  proportions  in  the  entire  period,  af 
fact  which  indicates  that  the  Jewish  immigrant  tide  recedes/ 
more  slowly  than  that  of  the  total  immigration.  In  1909, 
the  year  in  which  the  effect  of  the  panic  of  1907  was  regis- 
tered in  the  Jewish  immigration,  the  proportion  of  the  Jew- 
ish immigrants  to  the  total  fell  to  7.7  per  cent.  A  slight 
relative  rise  took  place  in  1910  to  8.1  per  cent. 

A  comparison  of  the  annual  fluctuations  of  the  Jewish 
and  the  total  immigration  enables  us  to  distinguish  some 
points  of  difference.1  Though,  on  the  whole,  the  Jewish 

i  Cf.  table  XXXII,  p.  175. 


535]      PARTICIPATION  OF  JEWS  IN  IMMIGRATION 

corresponds  with  the  total  immigration  in  its  rise  and  fall, 
there  are  significant  differences.  Thus,  1882  represents  a 
year  of  high  immigration  in  each,  but  the  rise  is  in  the  case 
of  the  total  immigration  one  of  17.9  per  cent  over  that  of 
the  preceding  year,  but  in  the  case  of  the  Jewish,  it  repre- 
sents a  rise  of  131.9  per  cent  over  that  of  the  preceding 
year,  proportionately  more  than  seven  times  as  great.  An- 
other period  of  rising  movement  is  in  1891  and  1892. 
Where,  however,  in  1891  the  total  immigration  rose  20.9 
per  cent,  the  Jewish  rose  79.5  per  cent.  In  1892,  the  total 
rose  3.4  per  cent,  the  Jewish  rose  48.6  per  cent.  In  all 
these  cases  the  difference  is  so  great  as  to  indicate  the  work- 
ing of  special  influences  in  the  Jewish  movement. 

The  existence  of  these  special  influences  is  again  evi- 
dent in  the  last  decade.  In  1904,  the  total  immi- 
gration fell  off  5.2  per  cent,  but  the  Jewish  immigra- 
tion rose  39.4  per  cent.  In  1906,  in  spite  of  the  great 
total  immigration  of  that  year,  and  its  increase  of  7.2  per 
cent  over  the  preceding  year,  the  increase  of  the  Jewish 
was  1 8. 2  per  cent — more  than  double  that  of  the  total. 
Again,  the  maximum  periods  of  the  two  movements  do- 
not  coincide.  The  total  immigration  reached  its  highest 
point  for  the  thirty  years  in  1907.  The  maximum  of  the 
Jewish  movement  was  in  1906. 

The  panic  of  1907  also  appears  to  have  influenced  the 
Jewish  immigration  more  slowly  than  the  total.  The  great- 
est fall  in  the  latter  took  place  in  1908,  immediately  after 
the  panic.  The  greatest  fall  of  the  Jewish  immigration 
took  place  in  1909.  This  is  another  indication  of  the  slow- 
ness of  the  response  of  the  Jewish  immigration  to  business 
conditions  in  this  country,  as  compared  with  the  rapid  re- 
sponse of  the  general  body  of  immigrants. 

As  the  racial  classification  was  introduced  only  in 
1899,  it  is  impossible  to  determine  for  the  entire  thirty 


I20        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [536 

years  the  exact  place  the  Jews  occupy  in  the  move- 
ment of  peoples  from  the  Old  World  to  the  New.  During 
the  twelve  years  from  1899  to  1910,  there  entered  the 
United  States  a  total  of  1,074,442  Jewish  immigrants,  an 
annual  average  of  nearly  ninety  thousand.  This  was  the 
second  largest  body  of  immigrants,  constituting  more  than 
a  tenth  of  the  total  immigration  for  this  period.  In  this 
regard  the  Jews  were  surpassed  only  by  the  South  Italians.1 
This  is  an  immense  volume  of  immigration,  both  rela- 
tively and  absolutely,  and  indicates  to  what  an  extent  the 
immigration  tendency  has  seized  the  Jews.  In  this  ten- 
dency, however,  the  Jews  from  the  different  countries  of 
Europe  differ  very  strongly.  As  practically  only  three 
countries  of  Eastern  Europe — Russia,  Roumania  and  Aus- 
tria-Hungary— are  represented  in  the  recent  Jewish  immi- 
gration, a  rate  of  immigration  established  for  the  Jews 
should  be  based  upon  the  population  of  these  countries 
rather  than  upon  the  total  Jewish  population  in  Europe. 
Thus  established,  the  Jews  have  the  highest  rate  of  immi- 
gration of  any  immigrant  peoples.  In  1906,  during  the 
maximum  period  of  Jewish  immigration,  the  rate  of  im- 
migration of  the  East-European  Jews  was  twenty  out  of 
every  thousand.  In  1907,  the  rate  of  the  Jewish  immigra- 
tion was  nineteen  out  of  every  thousand.  The  Jews  are 
approached  in  this  respect  only  by  the  Slovaks,  who,  in 
1907,  had  a  rate  of  immigration  of  eighteen  per  thousand. 
In  this  respect,  the  Jewish  immigration  is  seen  to  occupy 
an  exceptional  position  in  the  recent  movement  of  peoples 
from  Europe  to  this  country. 

1  This  average  and  the  same  relative  position  is  maintained  if  we  take 
the  fifteen  years  from  1899  to  1913,  in  which  period  there  entered 
i, .347,590  Jewish  immigrants. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
SUMMARY 

THE  preceding  analysis  of  the  movement  of  the  Jewish 
immigration  to  the  United  States  and  that  of  its  Russian, 
Roumanian  and  Austro-Hungarian  tributaries,  from  1881 
to  1910,  has  revealed  certain  facts  of  importance. 

The  progressive  nature  of  the  Jewish  movement  has  been 
disclosed.  The  greatest  numbers  have  come  within  the  last 
decade.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  movement  from 
Roumania,  and  to  a  less  extent  of  the  movement  from  Rus- 
sia. On  the  other  hand,  a  larger  relative  proportion  of  the 
Jews  from  Austria-Hungary  came  during  the  first  two 
decades.  Throughout,  the  Jews  from  Russia  have  pre- 
dominated in  the  total  movement,  governing  its  course  for 
practically  the  entire  period. 

In  the  total  movement  from  the  three  countries  of  East- 
ern Europe,  the  Jews  have  participated  most  strongly  in 
the  Roumanian  immigration,  constituting  nine-tenths  of 
this  immigration.  The  Jews  are  nearly  a  half  of  the  immi-* 
grants  from  Russia.  Their  participation  in  the  immigration 
from  Austria-Hungary  is  relatively  much  smaller,  being  less 
than  a  tenth  of  the  total  immigration.  In  the  immigration 
of  the  two  latter  countries,  the  Jews  show  a  lessening  par- 
ticipation, due  to  the  great  growth  of  the  immigration  of 
the  other  peoples.  In  the  movements  from  Russia  and  Rou- 
mania, the  participation  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  rises 
greatly  in  all  periods  significant  in  the  situation  of  the  Jews 
in  these  countries.  The  influence  of  the  unusual  conditions 
537]  121 


I22        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [538 

facing  the  Jews  in  Russia  and  Roumania  and  of  the  prin- 
cipal events  in  their  history  for  these  thirty  years  is  re- 
flected in  the  annual  fluctuations  of  the  Jewish  immigration 
of  each  of  these  countries  to  the  United  States.  The  eco- 
nomic and  social  pressure  exerted  upon  the  Jews  in  Russia 
and  Roumania  is  reflected  in  the  degree  emigration  is  util- 
ized by  them.  The  Jews  from  Russia  have  a  much  higher 
rate  of  immigration  than  any  other  people  immigrating 
from  Russia.  The  rate  of  immigration  of  the  Jews  from 
Roumania  is  the  highest  among  the  Jewish  immigrants 
from  Eastern  Europe.  In  both  annual  fluctuations  and 
rate  of  immigration  the  movement  of  the  Jews  from  Aus- 
tria-Hungary does  not  indicate  the  existence  of  special  in- 
fluences. 

The  participation  of  the  Jews  in  the  total  immigra- 
tion to  the  United  States  is  large  and  increasing  in  im- 
portance. For  the  last  fifteen  years  they  formed  the  second 
largest  body  of  immigrants.  Their  rate  of  immigration  is 
also  higher  than  that  of  any  other  immigrant  people.  Of 
note,  too,  is  the  slow  response  of  their  immigration 
to  unfavorable  economic  conditions  in  this  country. 
When  these  facts  are  joined  to  those  which  have  shown 
the  striking  relative  participation  of  the  Jews  in  the  move- 
ments from  Russia  and  Roumania,  and  the  existence  of 
special  causes  operating  in  these  countries  and  indicating 
their  influence  in  the  yearly  variations  and  in  an  extraordi- 
nary rate  of  immigration,  it  becomes  clear  that  for  the 
largest  part  of  this  period  of  thirty  years  Jewish  immigra- 
tion is  controlled  mainly  by  the  conditions  and  events  af- 
fecting the  fate  of  the  Jews  in  the  countries  of  Eastern 
Europe. 

That  the  conditions  in  the  United  States  exercise  an  in- 
fluence, favorable  or  unfavorable,  upon  the  immigration  of 
Jews  is  undoubted.  The  influences,  however,  exerted  by  the 


539]  SUMMARY 

conditions  abroad  are  far  stronger  and  steadier,  and,  on  the 
whole,  override  the  latter. 

The  conclusion  previously  reached  that  the  Jewish  im-  f  . 
migration  is  for  the  largest  part  the  result  of  the  expulsive  f ' 
and  rejective  forces  of  governmental  persecution  is  thus  * 
strengthened  by  this  examination  into  the  situation  as  pre- 
sented by  the  figures  of  the  Jewish  immigration  to  the 
United  States.    With  it  as  a  guiding  principle,  some  of  the 
main  characteristics  peculiar  to  the  Jewish  immigration  are 
explained.    To  these  we  now  turn. 


PART   II 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  THE 
UNITED   STATES 

B.     ITS   CHARACTERISTICS 


CHAPTER  I 
FAMILY  MOVEMENT 

VITAL  aspects  of  an  immigrant  people  are  revealed  in 
its  sex  and  age  distribution.  Generally  speaking,  whether 
an  immigration  is  composed  of  individuals  or  of  families 
is  shown  in  the  relative  proportion  of  males  and  females, 
and  of  adults  and  children,  of  which  it  is  composed. 

That  the  Jewish  movement  is  essentially  a  family  move- 
ment is  shown  by  the  great  proportion  of  females 
and  children  found  in  it.1  From  1899  to  1910,  out 
of  a  total  immigration  of  1,074,442  Jews,  607,822,  or 
56.6  per  cent  were  males,  and  466,620,  or  43.4  per 
cent,  were  females.  These  proportions  have  varied  but 
slightly  throughout  the  period.  The  greatest  depart- 
ures were  in  the  years  1904  and  1905.  The  increase 
of  the  immigration  of  males  in  these  years  is  ex- 
plained by  the  unusual  conditions  existing  in  Russia  at  this 
time — economic  unrest,  revolution — which  had  the  effect  of 
sending  over  the  men  as  an  avantgarde  to  prepare  the  way 
for  their  families.  Young  men  fleeing  to  escape  conscrip- 
tion also  swelled  the  numbers.  In  1906,  however,  the  num- 
ber of  males  decreased  by  2,000,  but  that  of  females  in- 
creased by  more  than  25,000.  In  this  tremendous  increase 
of  females  is  registered  the  effect  of  the  pogroms  of  1905-6, 
in  which  years  the  movement  became  a  veritable  flight. 

The  general  tendency  has  been  towards  an  increase  in 
the  proportion  of  females.  For  the  thirteen  years  pre- 

1  Cf.  table  XXXIII,  p.  176. 
543]  127 


I2g        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [544 

ceding,  from  1886  to  1898,*  out  of  a  total  immigration  at 
the  port  of  New  York  of  251,623  Jewish  adults,  147,053, 
or  58.4  per  cent,  were  males,  and  104,570,  or  41.6  per 
cent,  were  females.  The  proportion  of  males  is  here 
somewhat  higher  than  that  for  the  period  from  1899 
to  1910.  The  difference  is,  however,  relatively  small. 
The  tendency,  previously  noted,  towards  the  increase  in 
the  proportion  of  females  is  found  here.  The  greater  rela- 
tive diminution  of  the  males  in  the  later  years — in  1894 
reaching  the  point  where  there  were  more  females — is  even 
striking. 

Turning  to  a  consideration  of  the  ages  of  the  Jewish 
immigrants,  we  learn  that,  between  1899  and  1910,  267,656, 
or  practically  one-fourth  of  all  the  Jewish  immigrants,  were 
children  under  fourteen  years.2  The  large  part  that  is 
taken  in  the  Jewish  immigration  by  the  children  is  apparent. 

Here,  again,  1904  and  1905  represent  periods  of  great 
increase  in  the  immigration  of  those  between  fourteen  and 
forty-four  years.  As  was  the  case  with  the  females,  the 
proportion  of  children  in  the  immigration  is  at  its  greatest 
in  the  year  1906,  by  far  the  largest  part  of  the  increase  for 
this  year  being  children,  thus  giving  a  significant  indication 
of  the  extent  and  literalness  of  the  flight  from  Russia  in 
this  year  of  pogroms*  In  the  thirteen  years  preceding, 
from  1886  to  1898,  of  the  380,278  Jewish  immigrants  that 
entered  the  port  of  New  York  for  this  period,  128,655,  or 
33.8  per  cent,  were  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age.4  A 
steady  increase  in  the  latter  years  is  noted  in  the  proportion 
of  children,  which  harmonizes  with  a  similar  tendency 
noted  of  the  females  for  the  same  period. 

That  these  facts  reveal  a  family  movement  of  consider- 

1  Cf.  table  XXXIV,  p.  176.  2C/.  table  XXXV,  p.  177. 

8  Cf.  Hersch,  op.  cit.,  p.  76.  *Cf.  table  XXXVI,  p.  177- 


FAMILY  MOVEMENT  129 

able  size,  there  is  no  question.  They  become  truly  signifi- 
cant when  comparison  is  made  with  the  proportions  of  the 
females  and  the  children  in  the  general  immigration  and 
with  those  of  the  peoples  of  which  it  is  composed. 

A  comparison  of  the  proportion  of  males  and  females  in 
the  total  and  the  Jewish  immigration  from  1899  *°  1910 
shows  that  for  the  entire  period  the  percentage  of  females 
in  the  Jewish  was  much  higher  than  in  the  total  immigra- 
tion, 43.4  per  cent  of  the  Jewish  immigration  being  females 
as  compared  with  30.5  per  cent  of  the  total.1  The  percent- 
age of  females  in  the  Jewish  immigration  was  higher  for 
every  year  from  1899  to  1910. 

While  the  percentage  of  males  in  the  total  immigration 
was  above  70  per  cent  in  five  years,  the  percentage  of 
males  in  the  Jewish  immigration  was  less  than  60  per  cent 
in  all  but  two  years,  1904  and  1905,  when  it  rose  to  61.2 
per  cent  and  63.2  per  cent.  The  latter,  which  represents 
the  highest  point  in  the  percentage  of  males  in  the  Jewish 
immigration,  was  smaller  than  the  percentage  of  males  in 
the  total  immigration  for  every  year  but  1899.  In  other 
words  the  maximum  percentage  of  males  in  the  Jewish  and 
the  minimum  percentage  in  the  total  immigration  practi- 
cally coincide. 

In  the  period  between  1899  and  1909  the  proportion  of 
children  under  fourteen  years  of  age  in  the  Jewish  immi- 
gration was  24.8  per  cent,  while  that  in  the  total  immigra-- 
tion  was  only  12.3  per  cent.2  The  Jewish  thus  had  pro- 
portionately twice  as  many  children  as  the  total  immi- 
gration. 

The  exceptional  position  of  the  Jews  in  regard  to  their 
family  movement  is  most  strikingly  shown  when  the 

lCf.  table  XXXVII,  p.  178. 

2Gr.  Abstract  of  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  p.  14.  See  Bib- 
liography. 


I30        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [546 

composition  of  the  Jewish  immigration  by  sex  and  age 
is  compared  with  that  of  the  other  immigrant  peoples.1 
In  a  comparison  with  immigrant  races  which  contributed 
more  than  100,000  to  the  total  immigration  from  1899  to 
1910,  the  Jews  are  seen  to  have  a  higher  proportion  of 
females  than  any  other  people  except  the  Irish.  The  Irish 
present  in  this  regard  an  anomaly,  in  that  they  have  more 
females  than  males  in  their  immigration.  That  it  is  not 
in  the  main  a  family  movement  is  shown  by  reference  to  the 
proportion  of  children  under  fourteen  in  the  Irish  immigra- 
tion, which  is  only  5  per  cent,  one  of  the  lowest  in  the  entire 
series.  The  anomaly  is  easily  explained  by  the  well-known 
fact  that  their  females  for  the  most  part  are  single,  who 
come  to  the  United  States  to  work  as  servants.2 

Only  one  other  people,  the  Bohemian  and  Moravian,  ap- 
proached the  Jewish  in  its  high  proportion  of  females.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  one  people  with  a  larger  immigration 
than  the  Jewish,  the  South  Italian,  presents  a  striking  con- 
trast to  the  Jewish  immigration,  in  that  its  proportion  of 
females  was  about  half  that  of  the  Jews.  Although  its 
immigrants  numbered  twice  as  many  as  the  Jewish,  the 
females  in  the  Italian  movement  were*  only  408,965,  as  com- 
pared with  466,620  females  in  the  Jewish  immigration. 

A  comparison  of  the  immigrant  peoples  with  reference 
to  their  composition  by  age  shows  that  the  Jewish  move- 
ment contains  without  any  exception  the  largest  propor- 
tion of  children.3  Out  of  a  total  of  990,182  Jewish  immi- 
grants from  1899  to  1909,  245,787,  or  24.8  per  cent, 
were  children  under  fourteen.  In  this  regard,  again, 
the  Bohemian  and  Moravian  approach  the  Jewish,  though 

*Cf.  table  XXXVIII,  p.  179. 

1  Cf.  Abstract  of  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  p.  15,  for  the  high 
proportion  of  servants  among  the  Irish  immigrants. 
»C/.  table  XXXIX,  p.  180. 


547]  FAMILY  MOVEMENT  1^1 

not  as  closely  as  in  the  proportion  of  females.  The 
contrast  with  the  South  Italians  obtains  here  as  well. 
As  the  Jewish  immigration,  during  the  twelve  years  from 
1899  to  1910,  was  the  second  highest  in  numbers,  con- 
tributing more  than  a  million  to  the  total,  the  number  of 
females  and  children  found  in  its  movement  was  higher 
than  that  of  any  other  immigrant  race,  not  only  relatively 
but  absolutely  as  well. 

Most  striking,  indeed,  is  the  contrast  in  these  respects 
between  the  Jewish  immigrants  and  the  other  races  coming 
from  the  countries  of  Eastern  Europe,  particularly  the 
Slavic  immigrant  races  with  whom  the  Jews  have  been  asso- 
ciated in  the  official  statistics.1  An  examination  of  the  pro- 
portion of  females  in  the  immigration  of  the  eight  races 
composing  the  Slavic  group,  shows  that,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Bohemians  and  Moravians  (whose  movement 
presents  strong  similarities  to  that  of  the  Jews),  the  per- 
centage of  females  was  less  than  a  third  of  the  total  immi- 
gration of  each  race,  the  highest  being  that  of  the  Poles, 
which  was  30.5  per  cent.  The  contrast  is  even  more  strik- 
ing in  respect  to  children  under  fourteen.  Here,  again, 
excluding  the  Bohemians  and  Moravians,  the  highest  per- 
centage in  the  group  was  that  of  the  Poles,  9.5  per  cent.  In 
this  respect,  therefore,  the  association  of  the  Jewish  immi- 
grants with  the  other  immigrants  from  Eastern  Europe, 
under  the  rubric  "  Slavic  races  ",  is  seen  to  be  untenable. 

Strongest  of  all  is  the  contrast  between  the  Jewish  immi- 
gration and  that  of  the  Roumanian  people.2  The  Rou- 
manian movement  is  seen  to  be  composed  practically  wholly 
of  individuals,  only  9  per  cent  being  females,  while  that  of 
the  people  from  Roumania  (nine-tenths  of  whom  are 

lCf.  table  XL,  p.  181. 

2  Cf.  table  XLI,  p.  181.     The  Roumanian  immigrants  com  eprincipally 
from  Austria-Hungary,  and  only  slightly  from  Roumania. 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [548 

Jews1)  is  seen  to  have  a  proportion  of  females  higher  even 
than  that  in  the  total  Jewish  immigration.  Even  greater  is 
the  contrast  with  respect  to  age,  only  2.2  per  cent  of  the 
Roumanians  being  children  under  fourteen. 

The  division  of  the  peoples  represented  in  the  immigra- 
tion to  the  United  States  into  "old"  and  "new",  the  former 
consisting  of  the  peoples  from  Northern  and  Western 
Europe,  the  latter  of  the  peoples  from  Southern  and  Eastern 
Europe,  is  a  convenient  classification  essentially  of  two 
periods  of  immigration  coinciding  largely  with  changes  in 
the  economic  conditions  in  the  United  States, 

A  comparison  of  the  proportion  of  females  and  children 
in  the  "  old  "  and  the  "  new  "  immigration  with  that  in  the 
Jewish  shows  that  the  Jewish  immigration  has  proportion- 
ately almost  twice  as  many  females  as  the  "  new  "  immigra- 
tion (Jews  excepted),  and  surpasses  even  the  "  old  "  immi- 
gration in  this  regard.2  Of  children  under  fourteen  the 
Jewish  movement  has  proportionately  more  than  two  and 
one-half  times  as  many  as  the  "new"  immigration  (Jews 
excepted),  and  nearly  twice  as  many  as  the  "old"  immi- 
gration. 

This  analysis  shows  conclusively  that  the  Jewish  immi- 
gration is  essentially  a  family  movement;  that  it  is  ap- 
proached by  no  other  immigrant  people  in  this  regard ;  that 
it  not  only  cannot  be  classed  with  the  "  new  "  immigration, 
but  shows  a  tendency  towards  family  movement  far 
stronger  than  that  of  the  peoples  composing  the  "  old  "  im- 
migration. 

The  significance  of  this  characteristic  of  the  Jewish  im- 
migration is  obvious.  Their  unequaled  family  movement 
gives  one  of  the  clearest  indications  that  the  Jewish  im- 
migrants are  essentially  composed  of  permanent  settlers. 

1  Cf.  supra,  p.  131,  note  2.  *  Cf.  table  XLII,  p.  182. 


CHAPTER  II 
PERMANENT  SETTLEMENT 

OUR  studies  of  the  sex  and  age  distribution  of  the  Jewish 
immigrants  have  shown  a  family  movement  unsurpassed 
in  degree.  This  in  itself  is  sufficient  indication  that  the 
Jews  are  essentially  permanent  settlers  in  this  country  and 
not  transients,  "  who  have  no  intention  of  permanently 
changing  their  residence  and  whose  only  purpose  in  coming 
to  America  is  temporarily  to  take  advantage  of  greater 
wages  paid  for  industrial  labor  in  this  country." 

Equally  convincing  evidence  is  afforded  by  a  survey  of 
the  facts  regarding  the  outward  movement  of  Jews  from 
this  country.2  The  figures  of  Jewish  immigration  are  ob- 
tainable only  from  1908,  the  law  of  1907  having  required 
all  steamship  companies  to  furnish  information  regarding 
their  emigrant  passengers. 

The  relative  stability  of  an  immigration  may  be  deter- 
mined by  contrasting  the  departure  of  the  aliens  com- 
posing the  immigration  with  the  arriving  immigrants 
of  this  group  for  the  same  period.  From  1908  to 
1912,  33,315  Jews  left  the  United  States — an  average 
annual  emigration  of  6,660  Jews.  This  is  a  strikingly 
low  number,  especially  when  compared  with  the  large  Jew- 
ish immigration  for  the  same  period,  which  numbered 
417,016,  and  averaged  annually  83,400  Jewish  immi- 
grants. Thus,  for  every  hundred  Jews  admitted,  only  eight 

1  Immigration  Commission :  Conclusions  and  Recommendations,  p.  16. 
*Cf.  table  XLIII,  p.  182. 

54?1  133 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [550 

Jews  left  the  country.  This  average  proportion  was  largely 
exceeded  only  in  1909,  not,  however,  because  of  any  great 
increase  in  the  absolute  numbers  of  the  Jewish  emigrants, 
but  because  of  the  great  fall  in  the  number  of  Jewish  im- 
migrants of  this  year. 

The  part  that  is  taken  by  the  Jewish  emigrants  in  the 
total  emigration  is  insignificant  and  is  in  striking  contrast 
with  the  great  part  taken  by  the  Jewish  immigrants  in  the 
total  immigration.1  From  1908  to  1912,  the  Jewish  immi- 
grants constituted  9.7  per  cent  of  the  total  immigrants.  In 
the  same  period,  the  Jewish  emigrants  constituted  only  2.3 
per  cent  of  the  total  emigrants.  Moreover,  while  the  pro- 
portion that  the  Jewish  immigrants  constituted  of  the  total 
immigrants  exhibited  a  considerable  and  significant  varia- 
tion, fluctuating  from  7.7  per  cent  to  13.2  per  cent,  the 
proportion  the  Jewish  emigrants  constituted  of  the  total 
emigrants  remained  around  2  per  cent  and  showed  practi- 
cally no  variation.  Relatively  both  to  the  number  of  Jew- 
ish immigrants  and  of  total  emigrants,  therefore,  the  num- 
ber of  the  Jewish  emigrants  is  exceedingly  small  and  prac- 
tically negligible. 

How  great  the  relative  stability  of  the  Jewish  immigra- 
tion is  may  be  seen  when  its  return  movement  is  compared 
with  that  of  the  total  immigration  and  of  other  peoples 
conspicuous  in  the  immigration  to  the  United  States.2 
Whereas,  from  1908  to  1910,  for  every  hundred  ad- 
mitted in  the  total  immigration,  thirty-two  departed — the 
outward  movement  thus  approximating  one-third  of  the 
inward — in  the  case  of  the  Jewish  immigration,  only  eight 
departed,  an  outward  movement  only  one-quarter  as  large, 
relatively,  as  the  total.  This  was  the  smallest  outward 
movement,  relatively  to  the  inward,  of  any  immigrant  peo- 

lCf.  table  XLIV,  p.  183.  J  Cf.  table  XLV,  p.  183. 


i— I  ]  PERMANENT  SETTLEMENT  135 

pie,  except  the  Irish,  whose  outward  movement  was  6  per 
cent  of  the  inward.  Relatively  to  the  inward  movement, 
the  Jews  had  an  outward  movement  one-seventh  as  large 
as  the  South  Italians,  almost  one-fourth  as  large  as  the 
Poles,  and  less  than  one-half  as  large  as  the  Germans. 

In  the  total  immigration  for  these  years,  the  Jews  were 
the  third  largest  group  with  236,100  immigrants,  which  con- 
stituted 10.2  per  cent  of  the  total  immigration.  To  the  out- 
ward movement  for  this  period,  however,  they  contributed 
18,543  Jews,  which  constituted  only  2.5  per  cent  of  the 
total  number  of  emigrants,  one  of  the  smallest  contribu- 
tions. The  Poles,  who  constituted  11.7  per  cent  of  the  im- 
migration for  the  three  years,  contributed  practically  the 
same  proportion,  11.4  per  cent,  to  the  outward  movement. 
Even  more  striking  is  the  contrast  with  the  Italian  move- 
ment. The  Italians  contributed  19.8  per  cent  of  the  inward 
movement  for  the  period  and  35.7  per  cent  of  the  outward 
movement  for  the  three  years.  Though  their  immigration 
for  these  three  years  was  only  twice  as  large  as  that  of  the 
Jews,  their  emigration  was  more  than  fourteen  times  that 
of  the  Jews.  In  other  words,  no  people  combined  in  an 
equal  degree  as  the  Jews  so  small  a  number  of  emigrants 
with  so  large  a  number  of  immigrants. 

It  is  interesting  to  determine  what  is  the  emigration  ten- 
dency of  the  Jews  coming  from  Russia,  Roumania  and 
Austria-Hungary.  This  may  be  gathered  from  the  number 
of  emigrants  returned  for  each  of  these  countries,  from 
1908  to  1912,  as  compared  with  the  number  admitted.1 
From  1908  to  1912,  294,813  Jews  from  Russia  entered 
the  United  States  and  20,546  Jews  departed  for  Russia; 
11,246  Jews  from  Roumania  entered  the  United  States  and 
546  Jews  departed  for  Roumania;  60,408  Jews  from  Aus- 

lCf.  table  XLVI,  p.  134. 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [552 

tria-Hungary  entered  the  United  States,  and  8,513  Jews  de- 
parted for  Austria-Hungary.  In  other  words,  for  every 
hundred  Jews  entering  from  Russia  seven  departed,  for 
every  hundred  Jews  entering  from  Roumania  five  Jews  de- 
parted, for  every  hundred  Jews  entering  from  Austria- 
Hungary  fourteen  departed  for  their  respective  coun- 
tries. The  emigration  tendency  was  thus  smaller  with 
the  Roumanian  and  the  Russian  Jews  than  with  the 
Austro-Hungarian  Jews.  This  held  true  for  each  of  the 
five  years.  Relatively  twice  as  many  Jews  from  Austria- 
Hungary  as  from  Russia  returned.  The  Roumanian  Jews 
showed  the  smallest  tendency  to  return. 

Of  importance  is  the  question  of  the  relative  stability  of 
the  Jewish  movement  from  Russia  and  Austria-Hungary 
and  that  of  their  close  neighbors  in  these  countries,  the 
Poles,  who  contributed  almost  as  large  a  current  of  immi- 
grants to  the  United  States  as  the  Jews,  and  who,  since 
they  constitute  the  most  important  Slavic  group,  may  be 
taken  as  the  type  of  the  Slavic  movement  to  this  country. 

From  1908  to  1912,  265,964  Polish  immigrants  from 
Russia  were  admitted  to  the  United  States  and  60,290 
Poles  departed  for  Russia,  this  constituting  an  average 
emigration  of  twenty-two  per  hundred  admitted.1  As,  for 
every  hundred  Russian  Jews  admitted  in  this  period,  only 
seven  departed,  this  constituted  a  relative  emigration  one- 
third  as  large  as  that  of  the  Poles.  For  the  same  period, 
214,931  Poles  were  admitted  from  Austria-Hungary  and 
88,994  Poles  left  for  that  country,  which  constituted  an 
average  emigration  of  forty-one  per  hundred  admitted.  The 
average  emigration  of  the  Jews  from  Austria-Hungary  was 
fourteen  per  hundred  admitted  or  practically  one-third  as 
large  as  that  of  the  Poles.  Thus,  the  Jewish  immigrants 

lCf.  table  XLVII,  p.  184. 


PERMANENT  SETTLEMENT  137 

from  Russia  and  Austria-Hungary  present  relatively  three 
times  as  stable  a  movement  as  the  Polish  immigrants  from 
these  countries. 

The  fact  that  the  Jewish  emigration  from  Galicia  was  a 
movement  of  families  and  was  essentially  a  movement  of 
permanent  settlement  in  their  new  home  was  noted  by 
Buzek  as  characteristic  of  this  emigration  even  in  the  early 
eighties,  and  as  strongly  contrasted  with  the  emigration  of 
the  Poles  from  Galicia.1 

A  comparison  of  the  return  movement  of  the  "  old  "  and 
the  "  new  "  immigration  with  that  of  the  Jewish  immigra- 
tion gives  similar  results.2  For  every  hundred  admitted,  there 
were,  in  the  "new"  immigration,  forty-two  emigrants,  rela- 
tively more  than  five  times  as  many  as  among  the  Jews. 
Even  in  the  "  old  "  immigration,  which  is  largely  accepted 
as  the  type  of  permanent  immigration,  for  every  hundred 
admitted,  there  were  thirteen  emigrants,  about  one  and 
a  half  times  as  many  relatively  as  among  the  Jews. 
The  Jewish  immigration  must  thus  be  accorded  the  place 
of  distinction  in  American  immigration  for  permanence  of 
settlement. 

An  unusual  test  of  this  conclusion  was  afforded  by  the 
remarkable  emigration  following  the  crisis  of  iQO/.3  The 
general  opinion  that  "  the  causes  which  retard  emigration 
from  abroad  also  accelerate  the  exodus  from  the  United 
States  ",  was  considerably  strengthened  by  the  great  exodus 
of  1908.  To  this  rule  the  Jewish  immigration  forms,  again, 
a  most  striking  exception.  Although  its  number  in  1907 — 
149,182  immigrants — was  only  slightly  below  its  maximum 
for  thirty  years,  and  constituted  the  second  highest  immi- 
gration for  the  year,  only  7,702  Jews  left  the  country  in 

1  Buzek,  op  xit.,  p.  467-  2  Cf.  table  XLVIII,  p.  185. 

*Cf.  table  XLIX,  p.  185. 


I38        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [554 

1908.  This  constituted  only  two  per  cent  of  the  total  emi- 
gration for  that  year.  Relatively  to  the  number  admitted 
the  Jewish  emigration  was,  without  exception,  the  lowest, 
being  only  five  departed  for  every  hundred  admitted.  The 
remarkable  disparity  in  this  regard  with  the  Poles  and  the 
Italian  was  again  shown  here.  For  every  hundred  Poles 
entering  in  1907,  thirty-three  emigrated  in  1908.  For 
every  hundred  South  Italians  entering  in  1907,  sixty  emi- 
grated in  1908. 

That  the  business  conditions  of  this  country  affect  Jew- 
ish immigration  is  unquestioned,  but  the  difference  in  the 
degree  and  the  manner  of  the  response  puts  it  in  a  class 
apart.  A  comparison  of  the  total  gain  in  population  in 
1908  and  1909  in  the  immigration  of  Italians  and  Jews 
shows  that  whereas  in  the  Italian  inward  and  outward 
movement  in  1908  there  was  a  net  loss  to  this  country  of 
79,966,  but  in  1909  a  net  gain  of  94,806,  in  the  Jewish  in- 
ward and  outward  movement  in  1908  there  was  a  net  gain 
of  95,685,  and  in  1909  a  net  gain  of  50,705. x  The  Jewish 
immigration  responds  in  its  inward  movement  much  more 
slowly  and  less  completely  to  the  pressure  of  unfavorable 
conditions  in  this  country.  In  its  outward  movement  it 
shows  practically  no  response. 

The  conclusion  that  the  Jewish  immigrants  constitute  to 
an  unusual  degree  a  body  of  permanent  settlers  is  strength- 
ened by  an  examination  of  the  figures  concerning  immi- 
grants who  have  been  in  the  United  States  previously.2 
Of  the  total  from  1899  to  1910  of  9,220,066  immigrants, 

1  The  number  of  Jewish  emigrant  aliens  in  1908  was  deducted  from 
the  number  of  Jewish  immigrant  aliens :  the  combined  number  of  Jew- 
ish emigrant  and  non-emigrant  aliens  in  1909  was  deducted  from  the 
combined  number  of  Jewish  immigrant  and  non-immigrant  aliens.  Cf. 
Fairchild,  Immigration,  1913,  p.  361. 

9  Cf.  table  L,  p.  186. 


555]  PERMANENT  SETTLEMENT  !39 

1,108,948,  or  12  per  cent,  had  been  here  before.  Of  the 
1,074,442  Jews  who  entered  the  country  during  this  period, 
only  22,914,  or  2.1  per  cent,  had  been  previously  in  the 
United  States.  The  proportion  of  Jews  who  have  been  in 
this  country  before  is  by  far  the  lowest  of  any  immigrant 
peoples. 

As  the  total  Jewish  exodus  is  insignificant  as  compared 
both  with  the  total  emigration  and  the  proportion  of  the 
Jewish  immigration  in  the  total  inward  movement;  as  the 
Jewish  outward  movement  shows  practically  no  response!     / 
to  unfavorable  economic  conditions  in  this  country,  and  as  I  V 
the  Jewish  inward  movement  presents  the  phenomenon  of  a  I 
practically  new  body  of  immigrants,  we  are  led  to  con- 
clude that  the  Jewish  immigration  exhibits  a  quality  of  per- 
manence and  stability  to  so  great  a  degree  as  to  render  this 
fact  one  of  its  distinguishing  characteristics. 


\ 


CHAPTER  III 

OCCUPATIONS 

THE  occupations  of  an  immigrant  people  throw  light 
upon  their  industrial  equipment  and  their  probable  future 
occupations  in  this  country.  A  study  of  the  occupational 
distribution  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  from  1899  to  1910 
will  serve  to  illuminate  some  of  the  characteristics  of  their 
movement.1 

The  largest  group  is  that  classed  as  having  "  no 
occupation".  This  group  comprises  484,175  immi- 
grants, and  is  45.1  per  cent  of  the  total.  In  the 
fact  that  it  holds  so  large  a  place  in  the  occupational 
distribution,  there  is  reflected  the  great  number  of 
women  and  children  among  the  Jewish  immigrants. 
The  rise  in  the  proportion  of  the  "  no  occupation  "  group 
in  the  second  half  of  the  twelve  years  follows  a  similar  rise 
in  the  proportion  of  women  and  children  in  the  Jewish 
movement,  which  has  been  previously  noted.2  These  are, 
in  the  main,  economically  dependent,  a  fact  which  is  of  the 
highest  importance  with  reference  to  the  character  of  this 
immigration,  as  well  as  in  its  influence  upon  the  economic 
and  social  problems  facing  the  immigrant  Jews  in  their  new 
home. 

Skilled  laborers  were  the  second  largest  group,  number- 
ing 395,823  immigrants  and  comprising  36.8  per  cent  of 
the  total.  Next  in  order  was  the  group  classed  as  "  mis- 
cellaneous ",  with  186,989  immigrants,  representing  17.4 

lCf.  table  LI,  p.  186.  a  Cf.  supra,  pp.  127-128. 

140  [556 


557]  OCCUPATIONS  I4I 

per  cent  of  the  total.  This  group  included  common  and 
farm  laborers,  servants,  merchants  and  dealers,  etc.  In 
professional  occupations  there  were  7,455  immigrants,  com- 
prising 7  per  cent  of  the  total. 

Omitting  the  "  no  occupation  "  group,  and  considering 
the  590,267  Jewish  immigrants  reporting  occupations,  we 
find  that  of  these  the  great  majority — 67.1  per  cent — were 
skilled  laborers.1  Laborers  numbered  69,444  and  comprised 
1 1. 8  per  cent.  Next  in  order  of  numbers  were  servants, 
65,532,  who  comprised  n.i  per  cent.  A  much  smaller 
group  was  that  composed  of  merchants  and  dealers  (chiefly 
petty  merchants,  hucksters,  and  peddlers),  who  numbered 
31,491  and  were  5.3  per  cent  of  the  total.  Of  farm  laborers 
there  were  11,460,  comprising  1.9  per  cent.  The  entire  pro- 
fessional class  comprised  1.3  per  cent  of  the  total.  There 
were  1,000  farmers,  who  comprised  .2  per  cent. 

In  the  professional  classes  the  teachers  were  the  largest 
group,  represented  by  2,192,  and  comprising  29.4  per  cent.2 
The  next  class  were  the  musicians,  who  numbered  1,624, 
comprising  21.8  per  cent  of  the  total.  Together  these  two 
groups  were  more  than  half  of  the  total. 

Thus,  by  far  the  most  important  occupational  group  was 
that  of  the  skilled  laborers.3  An  examination  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  this  group  shows  that  they  were  represented 
in  thirty-five  trades.  By  far  the  largest  group  of  the  skilled 
laborers  were  the  tailors,  numbering  145,272,  and  compris- 
ing 36.6  per  cent.  The  dressmakers  and  seamstresses  num- 
bered 39,482,  and  comprised  one-tenth  of  the  total.  In- 
cluding the  closely  allied  trades  such  as  hat  and  cap  makers, 
milliners,  etc.,  the  garment  workers  composed  practically 
one-half  of  the  entire  body  of  skilled  laborers.  Second  in 
rank  were  the  carpenters  and  joiners,  who,  together  with  the 

1  Cf.  table  LII,  p.  187.  *  Cf.  table  LIII,  p.  187. 

3  Cf.  table  LIV,  p.  188. 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [558 

cabinet  makers  and  woodworkers  (not  specified)  numbered 
40,901,  and  comprised  more  than  one-tenth  of  the  total. 
The  fourth  highest  group  were  the  shoemakers,  with 
23»5I9>  or  5-9  Per  cent  °f  the  total.  Clerks  and  accountants, 
and  painters  and  glaziers  contributed  an  almost  equal  num- 
ber— the  former  17,066,  the  latter  16,387 — representing  4.3 
per  cent  and  4.1  per  cent  respectively  of  the  total.  Of 
butchers  there  were  11,413,  or  2.9  per  cent,  and  of  bakers 
10,925,  or  2.8  per  cent.  There  were  also  9,385  locksmiths, 
or  2.4  per  cent,  and  8,517  blacksmiths,  or  2.2  per  cent.  To- 
gether, these  ten  groups  comprised  318,104,  or  80.4  per  cent 
of  the  Jews  in  skilled  occupations. 

Another  skilled  occupation  represented  by  more  than 
5,000  was  tinners.  Trade  groups  of  more  than  3,000  were 
watch  and  clock  makers,  tobacco  workers,  hat  and  cap 
makers,  barbers  and  hairdressers,  weavers  and  spinners,  tan- 
ners and  curriers,  furriers  and  fur  workers,  and  bookbind- 
ers. More  than  a  thousand  skilled  laborers  were  found  in 
the  following  trades :  photographers  and  upholsterers,  me- 
chanics (not  specified),  masons,  printers,  saddlers  and  har- 
ness makers,  milliners,  metal  workers  (other  than  iron,  steel 
and  tin) ,  machinists,  jewelers  and  millers.  Less  than  a  thou- 
sand laborers  were  found  in  two  groups:  iron  and  steel 
workers,  and  textile  workers  (not  specified). 

The  Jewish  immigrants  were  therefore  concentrated  in 
the  two  groups  of  "  no  occupation  "  and  "  skilled  laborers", 
to  which  belonged  more  than  four-fifths  of  the  total 
number. 

In  the  part  taken  by  the  Jewish  immigrants  in  the 
occupational  distribution  of  the  total  immigrants  from 
1899  to  1909,  these  two  groups  are  prominent.1  To 
the  1,247,674  skilled  laborers,  the  Jewish  immigrants  con- 

1  Cf.  table  LV,  p.  189. 


559]  OCCUPATIONS  143 

tributed  362,936,  or  29.1  per  cent.  This  was  more  than 
twice  the  proportion  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  in  the  total 
number  of  immigrants.  They  were  also  represented  in  the 
"no  occupation"  group  by  more  than  one  and  one-half  times 
their  proportion  of  the  total  immigration,  contributing  to  a 
total  of  2,165,287  immigrants,  445,728,  or  20.6  per  cent. 
In  striking  contrast  with  the  great  contribution  to  these  two 
classes  is  their  insignificant  contributions  to  the  groups  of 
common  laborers  and  farmers,  and  farm  laborers,  to  which 
they  contributed  respectively  2.9  per  cent,  i.i  per  cent,  and 
o.i  per  cent. 

It  is,  however,  in  comparison  with  the  occupational 
grouping  of  the  other  races  that  the  peculiarities  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  Jewish  immigrants  are  most  clearly  seen.1 
An  examination  of  the  number  of  those  classed  as  having 
"  no  occupation  "  of  each  European  immigrant  people  and 
the  percentage  this  group  comprised  of  the  total  immigra- 
tion of  each  people,  shows  that  the  Jews  have  the  highest 
proportion,  45.1  per  cent,  of  all  immigrants  belonging  to 
this  group.  The  Bohemians  and  Moravians  are  next  in 
order,  with.  39.5  per  cent.  The  absolute  numbers  of  the 
Jews  belonging  to  this  group  are  also  higher  than  those 
of  any  other  people.  The  Italians  have  only  440,274  im- 
migrants in  the  "  no  occupation  "  group,  as  compared  with 
the  484,175  Jewish  immigrants  in  this  group.  Even  more 
striking  is  the  contrast  with  the  Poles,  who  have  only 
200,634  immigrants  belonging  to  this  group.  This  corres- 
ponds closely  with  similar  facts  as  to  the  relative  pro- 
portions of  females  and  children  found  in  the  Jewish 
immigration  and  among  the  other  immigrant  races. 

An  even  greater  contrast  exists  in  the  proportions  of 
skilled  laborers  between  the  Jewish  and  the  other  immi- 

lCf.  table  LVI,  p.  189. 


I44        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [560 

grant  peoples.1  Of  those  reporting  occupations  the  Jews 
,J  have,  by  far,  the  highest  proportion  of  those  in  skilled  oc- 
cupations. The  nearest  approach  to  their  proportion  of 
skilled  laborers  is  found  among  the  Scotch,  with  57.9  per 
cent  The  next  in  order  are  the  English,  with  48.7  per  cent. 
A  much  smaller  proportion  is  found  among  the  Bohemians 
and  Moravians  and  the  Germans.  All  these  races 
contribute  not  only  much  smaller  proportions  than  the 
Jews,  but  very  much  smaller  absolute  numbers  to  the  total 
body  of  skilled  laborers. 

Of  laborers  (including  farm  laborers),  the  Jews,  on  the 
other  hand,  have  a  smaller  proportion,  13.7  per  cent,  than 
any  people,  except  the  Scotch  (who  resemble  the  Jews  most 
strongly  in  their  high  proportion  of  skilled  laborers  and 
their  low  proportion  of  common  laborers). 

The  most  striking  contrast,  in  occupational  distribution, 
however,  is  presented  with  the  Slavic  peoples.2  Of  those 
reporting  occupations,  the  Slavic  peoples,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Bohemians  and  Moravians,  are  seen  to  be  overwhelm- 
ingly concentrated  in  the  two  related  groups  of  common  and 
farm  laborers,  whereas  the  Jews  are  mostly  to  be  found  in 
the  group  of  skilled  laborers.  Relatively  ten  times  as  many 
Jews  as  Poles,  for  instance,  are  in  the  skilled  occupations. 

That  the  Jews  form  a  striking  exception  in  their  occu- 
pational grouping  is  evident.  A  comparison  of  the  occupa- 
tional distribution  of  the  "  old  "  and  the  "  new  "  immi- 
grants with  that  of  the  Jewish  immigrants,  from  1899  to 
1909,  leads  to  the  same  conclusion. 3  The  Jewish  immi- 
grants have  twice  as  many  in  the  "  no  occupation  "  group 
as  the  "  new  "  immigrants,  and  a  much  higher  percentage 
than  the  "  old'"  immigrants.  They  have  relatively  four 

lCf.  table  LVII,  p.  190.  2  Cf.  table  LVIII,  p.  191. 

*Cf.  table  LIX,  p.  191. 


56i]  OCCUPATIONS  145 

times  as  many  skilled  laborers  as  the  "  new  "  immigrants, 
and  more  than  one  and  one-half  times  as  many  as  the  "old" 
immigrants.  Most  remarkable  is  the  fact  that  in  spite  of 
the  relatively  great  proportion  of  women  among  the  Jewish 
immigrants,  they  have  a  smaller  proportion  of  servants 
than  the  "  new  "  immigrants  and  one-third  as  large  a  pro- 
portion as  the  "  old  "  immigrants.  This  indicates  that  the 
Jewish  women  are,  as  a  rule,  not  servants,  but  either  do  not 
engage  in  work,  or,  if  they  do,  are  employed  in  skilled  oc- 
cupations. The  latter  group  is,  however,  relatively  incon- 
spicuous. 

In  professional  occupations  the  Jews  occupy  an  inter- 
mediate position  between  the  "  old  "  and  the  "  new  "  immi- 
grants. In  common  and  farm  laborers,  the  Jews  have  an 
exceedingly  low  proportion  as  compared  with  the  "  old  " 
and  a  strikingly  low  proportion  as  compared  with  the  "new" 
immigrants. 

Some  distinctive  traits  in  the  occupational  grouping  of 
the  Jewish  immigrants  have  become  evident.  They  are 
apart  from  all  the  other  immigrant  peoples  in  the  great 
number  of  those  having  "  no  occupation  ".  In  other  words, 
the  Jewish  immigrants  are  burdened  with  a  far  greater 
number  of  dependents  than  any  other  immigrant  people, 
standing  apart  in  this  respect  from  the  peoples  of  the  "old" 
immigration  and  to  a  far  greater  extent  from  the  peoples 
of  the  "  new  "  immigration.  Secondly,  the  Jewish  immi- 
grants are  distinguished  by  a  far  greater  proportion  of 
skilled  laborers.  In  this  respect  again  they  exceed  even  the 
peoples  of  the  "  old  "  immigration.  The  fact  that  the  skilled 
laborers  are  more  largely  represented  among  the  Jewish  im- 
migrants than  they  are  in  the  occupations  of  the  Jews  in  the 
countries  of  Eastern  Europe  is  significant  as  showing  an 
unusual  pressure  upon  these  classes  abroad. 


CHAPTER  IV 
ILLITERACY 

THE  rate  of  illiteracy  has  been  generally  used  as  a  rough 
standard  for  estimating  the  mental  equipment  of  the  immi- 
grants. A  consideration  of  the  rate  of  illiteracy  among  the 
Jewish  immigrants  dispels  the  popular  impression  that  prac- 
tically every  Jew  is  able  to  read  and  write.1  Out  of  a  total 
tered  this  country  from  1899  to  I9IO>  2°9>5°7>  or  26  per 
of  806,786  Jews  fourteen  years  of  age  and  over  who  en- 
cent,  were  unable  to  read  and  write.  As  the  average  rate  of 
illiteracy  among  all  the  immigrants,  from  1899  to  1910, 
was  26.7  per  cent,  the  rate  of  Jewish  illiteracy  is  seen  to 
be  only  slightly  below  the  average. 

A  number  of  considerations  enter.  One  of  these  is  the 
influence  of  sex.  It  is  generally  recognized  that,  as  a  rule, 
females  are  more  usually  unlettered  than  males.  This  dif- 
ference of  illiteracy  between  the  sexes  is  also  more  pro- 
nounced in  countries  where  popular  education  is  less  widely 
spread  than  in  those  where  it  is  the  rule.  Such  is  the  case 
with  the  countries  of  Eastern  Europe,  which  are  the  source 
of  the  recent  Jewish  immigration.  The  contrast  between 
male  and  female  illiteracy  is  strongest  among  the  East- 
European  Jews,  who  neglect  the  education  of  their 
daughters  as  much  as  they  strive  to  educate  their  sons. 
This  is  reflected  in  the  relative  illiteracy  of  males 
and  females  among  the  Jewish  immigrants.2  Of  the 
172,718  Jewish  males  fourteen  years  of  age  and  over 

1  Cf.  table  LX,  p.  192.  J  Cf.  table  LXI,  p.  192. 

146  [562 


ILLITERACY 


!47 


entering  this  country  from  1908  to  1912,  33,970,  or 
19.7  per  cent,  were  illiterates.  Of  the  139,283  females 
fourteen  years  of  age  and  over,  51,303,  or  36.8  per  cent, 
were  illiterates.  The  illiteracy  of  Jewish  females  is  thus 
almost  twice  as  high  as  that  of  Jewish  males.  As  the  pro- 
portion of  females  in  the  Jewish  immigration  is  so 
large,  the  influence  of  the  sex  factor  in  increasing  the 
rate  of  illiteracy  among  the  Jewish  immigrants  is  consid- 
erable. A  tendency  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  rate  of  illit- 
eracy is  discernible.  The  average  rate  for  the  first  six  years 
was  23.8  per  cent,  that  for  the  last  six  years  was  27.2  per 
cent.  This  corresponds  with  the  increase  in  the  latter  years 
in  the  proportion  of  females  in  the  Jewish  immigration, 
which  has  been  previously  noted. 

A  comparison  of  the  rate  of  illiteracy  of  the  Jewish  im- 
migrants with  that  of  the  other  immigrant  peoples  shows 
that  the  Jews  occupy  an  intermediate  position.1  They  have 
a  relatively  high  rate  of  illiteracy,  as  compared  with  the 
peoples  from  Northern  and  Western  Europe.  In  compari- 
son with  the  Slavs,  their  rate  of  illiteracy  is  also  much 
higher  than  that  of  the  Bohemians  and  Moravians,  and, 
higher  also,  though  to  a  far  less  degree,  than  that  of  the 
Slovaks. 

The  relative  position  of  the  Jews  is  clearly  shown  in  a 
comparison  of  their  rate  of  illiteracy  from  1899  to  1910  with 
that  for  the  same  period  of  the  "  old  "  and  the  "  new  "  im- 
migration (from  the  latter  of  which  the  Jews  are  ex- 
cepted.)2  The  rate  of  illiteracy  of  the  "  old  "  immigration 
is  2.5  per  cent,  that  of  the  "  new  "  immigration  (Jews  ex- 
cepted)  is  37.2  per  cent,  that  of  the  Jews  is  25.7  per  cent. 
The  Jews  occupy  a  middle  ground,  yet  near  enough  to  the 
"  new  "  immigration  to  be  classed  with  it  in  this  respect. 

1  Cf.  table  LXII,  p.  193.  *  Cf.  table  LXIII,  p.  194. 


J 


I48        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [564 

The  conclusion  reached  in  the  first  part  that  the  educa- 
tional standing  of  the  Jews  is  higher  than  that  of  the  peoples 
in  Eastern  Europe  among  whom  they  live  is  reflected  in 
the  greater  relative  literacy  of  their  immigrants.1  The  rate 
of  illiteracy  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  is  lower  than  that  of 
the  peoples  among  whom  the  Jews  are  found.  In  the  case 
of  the  Lithuanians  and  the  Ruthenians  the  difference  is 
considerable.  This  is  seen  to  hold  true  for  each  sex.2  The 
illiterates  among  the  Jewish  males  constituted  21.9  per  cent 
of  the  total  number  of  Jewish  males.  The  illiterates  among 
the  Jewish  females  constituted  40.0  per  cent  of  the  total 
number  of  Jewish  females.  In  both  sexes,  the  proportion  of 
illiterates  was  lower  than  that  prevailing  among  the  other 
immigrant  peoples. 

Here,  again,  the  fact  is  noticeable  of  a  wider  difference 
in  the  case  of  the  Jews  between  the  illiteracy  of  their  males 
and  females  than  exists  among  any  of  the  other  peoples. 
Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Jews  have  in  their  immigration  a 
notably  higher  proportion  of  females  than  any  of  these  peo- 
ples, the  difference  between  their  rate  of  illiteracy  and  that 
of  these  peoples  is  lessened  to  some  extent. 

That  the  illiteracy  of  the  Jews  is  due  chiefly  to  their  ex- 
ceptional status  in  Russia  and  Roumania,  our  review  of  the 
conditions  affecting  Jewish  education  in  those  countries  has 
shown.  No  more  striking  illustration  exists  of  the  fact 
that  the  literacy  of  the  Jews  is  conditioned  by  their  free- 
dom than  the  degree  in  which  they  are  taking  advantage  of 
the  educational  opportunities  offered  in  this  country,  re- 
markable testimony  to  which  is  presented  in  the  reports  of 
the  recent  Immigration  Commission. 

1  Cf.  table  LXIV,  p.  194.  *Cf.  table  LXV,  p.  194. 


CHAPTER  V 
DESTINATION 

THE  destination,  or  intended  future  residence,  of  immi- 
grants is  influenced  by  certain  considerations,  such  as  the 
place  of  residence  of  friends  or  relatives,  the  port  arrived 
at,  and  the  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the  immigrants. 

The  most  important  influence  is  that  exercised  by  the 
occupations  of  the  immigrants.  The  preponderance  of  the  / 
industrially  skilled  and  commercial  groups  among  the  Jew-*' 
ish  immigrants  makes  for  residence  in  the  industrial  and 
commercial  centers.  The  great  majority  of  the  Jewish  im- 
migrants arriving  from  1899  to  1910  were  destined  for  the 
eastern  states.1  Of  the  total  number  of  Jewish  immigrants 
from  1889  to  1910,  923,549  immigrants,  or  86  per  cent, 
gave  the  North  Atlantic  States  as  their  destination  and 
110,998  immigrants,  or  10.3  per  cent,  the  North  Central 
States.  Less  than  one-twentieth  gave  all  the  other  divisions 
as  their  destination. 

A  great  proportion  of  the  Jewish  immigrants,  numbering 
690,296,  or  64.2  per  cent  of  the  total,  gave  New  York  as 
their  destination.2  Pennsylvania  was  the  destination  of  the 
next  largest  number  of  immigrants,  108,534,  constituting 
i o.i  per  cent  of  the  total.  For  Massachusetts  there  were 
destined  66,023  immigrants,  or  6.1  per  cent  of  the  total. 
Four-fifths  of  the  total  number  of  immigrants  were  des- 
tined for  these  three  states.  Other  eastern  states  receiving 
a  large  number  of  immigrants  were  New  Jersey,  for  which 

1  Cf.  table  LXVI,  p.  195.  *  Cf.  table  LXVII,  p.  195. 

565]  149 


!-0        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [566 

34,279  were  destined,  and  Connecticut,  for  which  16,254 
immigrants  were  destined.  Of  the  North  Central  States, 
Illinois  was  the  destination  of  the  largest  number,  50,931 
immigrants,  constituting  4.7  per  cent  of  the  total.  Ohio 
was  the  destination  of  the  next  largest  number,  20,531  im- 
migrants, or  1.9  per  cent  of  the  total.  One  state  in  the  South 
Central  division,  Maryland,  was  given  as  the  destination  of 
18,700  immigrants,  constituting  1.7  per  cent  o>f  the  total, 
and  the  largest  number  of  those  destined  for  this  division. 
The  tendency  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  towards  indus- 
trial and  commercial  centers  is  here  reflected. 

The  destination  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  to  the 
eastern  states  agrees  with  that  of  the  total  immigration  for 
the  same  period.1  A  larger  proportion  of  the  Jewish  im- 
migrants than  of  the  total  immigrants  was  destined  for  the 
North  Atlantic  States,  which  contain  the  commercial  and 
manufacturing  centers.  Less  than  one-half  as  many  Jewish 
immigrants  as  total  immigrants  were  destined  for  the  North 
Central  States.  About  an  equal  proportion  of  each  was 
destined  for  the  South  Atlantic  States.  A  much  smaller 
proportion  of  the  Jewish  than  of  the  total  was  destined  for 
the  Western  States.  In  view  of  the  industrial  equipment 
of  the  Jewish  immigrants  discussed  previously,  this  ten- 
dency is  explained. 

The  Jewish  immigrants  destined  for  the  eastern  states 
play  a  correspondingly  large  part  among  the  total  number 
destined  for  these  states.2  The  Jewish  immigrants  destined 
for  the  North  Atlantic  States  were  14.5  per  cent  of  all  the 
immigrants  destined  for  this  division.  Their  next  highest 
proportion  was  of  those  destined  for  the  South  Central 
States,  of  which  they  constituted  9.9  per  cent.  They  consti- 
tuted an  almost  equal  proportion  of  the  immigrants  des- 

lCt.  table  LXVIII,  p.  196.  *  Cf.  table  LXIX,  p.  196. 


567]  DESTINATION  !5I 

tined  for  the  North  Central  and  the  South  Central  States, 
5.2  per  cent,  and  5.0  per  cent,  respectively.  Of  the  immi- 
grants destined  for  the  Western  States  they  constituted  only 
1.2  per  cent. 

The  final  destination  of  the  immigrants  very  frequently 
is  different  from  the  destination  stated  at  the  time  of  land- 
ing. An  examination  of  the  disposition  of  Jewish  immi- 
grants landing  at  the  port  of  New  York  from  1886  to  1906 
showed  that  a  large  part  of  the  immigrants  left  within  a 
very  short  time  for  other  parts.1  Of  the  918,388  immi- 
grants that  landed  at  the  port  of  New  York,  from  1886  to 
1906,  669,453,  or  72.9  per  cent,  remained  in  New  York,  and 
248,935,  or  27.1  per  cent,  left  for  other  points. 

1  Cf.  reports  of  the  United  Hebrew  Charities  of  New  York  City,  1886 
to  1906. 


CHAPTER  VI 
SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 

SOME  of  the  principal  characteristics  of  the  Jewish  im- 
migration to  the  United  States  have  been  presented  in 
the  preceding  pages.  The  Jewish  immigration  has  been 
shown  to  consist  essentially  of  permanent  settlers.  Its 
family  movement  is  incomparable  in  degree,  and  con- 
tains a  larger  relative  proportion  as  well  as  absolute 
number  of  women  and  children,  than  any  other  im- 
migrant people.  This  in  turn  is  reflected  in  the  greater 
relative  proportion  as  well  as  absolute  number  of  those 
classified  as  having  "  no  occupation  ".  The  element  of 
dependency  thus  predicated  is  another  indication  of  the  fam- 
ily composition  of  the  Jewish  immigration.  Its  return  move- 
ment is  the  smallest  of  any,  as  compared  both  with  its  large 
immigration  and  the  number  of  total  emigrants.  The  Jew- 
ish immigrants  are  distinguished  as  well  by  a  larger  rela- 
tive proportion  and  absolute  number  of  skilled  laborers, 
than  any  other  immigrant  people.  In  these  four  primary 
characteristics  the  Jewish  immigrants  stand  apart  from  all 
the  others. 

It  is  with  the  neighboring  Slavic  races  emigrating  from 
the  countries  of  Eastern  Europe  and  with  whom  the  Jew- 
ish immigrants  are  closely  associated  that  the  contrasts,  in 
all  these  respects,  are  strongest.  The  Slavic  immigrants  are 
chiefly  male  adults.  Their  movement  is  largely  composed 
of  transients,  as  evidenced  by  a  relatively  large  outward 
movement  and  emphasized  by  the  fact  that  the  vast  majority 
152  [568 


569] 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 


of  them  are  unskilled  laborers.  An  exception,  in  large 
measure,  must  be  made  of  the  Bohemian  and  Moravian 
immigrants  who  present  characteristics  strongly  similar  to 
those  of  the  Jewish  immigrants.- 

The  division  into  "  old  "  and  "  new  "  immigration  brings 
out  even  more  clearly  the  exceptional  position  of  the  Jews 
in  regard  to  these  characteristics.  Although  the  Jewish 
immigration  has  been  contemporaneous  with  the  "  new  " 
immigration  from  Eastern  and  Southeastern  Europe,  and  is 
furthermore  essentially  East-European  in  origin,  its  char- 
acteristics place  it  altogether  with  the  "  old  "  immigration.1 
Most  striking,  however  is  the  fact  that  in  all  of  ihese 
respects  —  family  composition,  and  small  return  movement 
(both  indicating  permanent  settlement)  and  in  the  propor- 
tion  of  skilled  laborers  —  the  Jewish  immigration  stands 
apart  even  from  the  "  old  "  immigration. 

Further  confirmation  may  be  obtained,  in  the  study  of 
the  characteristics  of  the  Jewish  immigration,  of  the 
principle  established  in  the  preceding  sections  that  the 
rejective  forces  of  governmental 


sible  for  the  largest  part  of  this  immigration.  The 
large  family  movement  of  the  Jewish  immigration  is 
a  symptom  of  abnormal  conditions  and  amounts  almost  to  a 
reversal  of  the  normal  immigration,  in  which  single  or  mar- 
ried men  without  families  predominate.  Even  the  family 
movement  of  the  "  old  "  immigrants  may  largely  be  at- 
tributed to  the  longer  residence  of  their  peoples  in  the 
United  States  as  well  as  to  their  greater  familiarity  with 
the  conditions  and  customs  of  the  United  States.  That  so 
large  a  part  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  is  composed  of  de- 

JSo  strongly  was  this  the  case  that  the  Immigration  Commission  in 
discussing  these  characteristics  was  compelled  to  separate  the  Jewish 
from  the  "new"  immigration,  in  order  to  bring  out  the  essential  dif- 
erences  of  the  latter  from  the  "old"  immigration. 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [570 

I  pendent  females  and  children  creates  a  situation  of  economic 
\J  disadvantage  for  the  Jewish  immigrants,  all  the  stronger 
because  of  their  relative  un familiarity  with  the  language  or 
the  conditions  facing  them  in  this  country. 

Again,  the  Jews  respond  slowly  and  incompletely  to  the 
pressure  of  unfavorable  economic  conditions  in  this  coun- 
try. This  was  emphasized  by  the  almost  complete  lack  of 
response  to  the  panic  of  1907,  as  well  as  expressed  in  the 
small,  practically  unchanging  return  movement  of  the  Jews 
to  their  European  homes. 

The  pressure  upon  the  Jewish  artisans,  or  skilled  labor- 
>J  ers,  in  Eastern  Europe  is  reflected  in  the  predominance  of 
this  class  among  the  Jewish  immigrants  to  this  country. 
That  so  useful  an  element  in  Eastern  Europe  with  its  still 
relatively  backward  industrial  development — a  fact  that 
was  given  express  recognition  by  the  permission  accorded 
the  Jewish  artisans  in  Alexander  IFs  time  to  live  in  the  in- 
terior of  Russia — should  have  been  compelled  to  emigrate 
indicates  that  the  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  was  easier  for 
them  than  the  trip  into  the  interior  of  Russia,  access  to 
which  is  still  legally  accorded  to  them. 

That  the  oppressive  conditions  created  particularly  in 
Russia  and  Roumania  and  operating  as  a  pressure  equiva- 
I  lent  to  an  expulsive  force  does  not  explain  the  entire  Jewish 
^  immigration  to  this  country  is  evident  from  the  preceding 
pages.  In  a  great  measure,  the  immigration  of  Jews  from 
Austria-Hungary  is  an  economic  movement.  The  exist- 
ence, however,  of  a  certain  degree  of  pressure  created  by 
economic  and  political  antisemitism  has  however  been 
recognized.  The  Jewish  movement  from  Austria-Hungary 
shares  largely  with  the  movement  from  Russia  and  Rou- 
mania the  social  and  economic  characteristics  of  the  Jew- 
ish immigration  which  we  have  described.  A  strong  family 
movement  and  a  relative  permanence  of  settlement,  espec- 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 

ially  as  compared  with  the  Poles,  and  a  movement  of  skilled 
laborers  must  be  predicated  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  from 
Austria-Hungary,  though  undoubtedly  not  to  the  same  de- 
gree as  in  the  case  of  the  Jewish  movements  from  Russia 
and  Roumania. 

It  is  also  clear  that  the  forces  of  economic  attraction  in  ^ 
the  United  States  do  not  play  an  altogether  passive  part  in 
the  Jewish  immigration.  The  very  fact  of  an  immigrant- 
nucleus  formed  in  this  country  and  serving  as  a  center  of 
attraction  to  relatives  and  friends  abroad — a  force  which 
increases  in  direct  and  multiple  proportion  to  the  growth 
of  immigration — is  an  active  and  positive  force  in  strength- 
ening the  immigration  current.  This  was  early  understood 
by  the  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle  which  had  acted  upon 
this  principle  in  the  seventies  and  had  prophetically  >  / 
sought  to  direct  a  healthy  movement  of  Jewish  immi- 
grants to  this  country  in  the  hope  of  thereby  laying  a 
foundation  for  future  Jewish  immigration  to  this  country. 
This  current,  however,  once  started  and  growing  only  by 
the  force  of  its  increasing  attraction,  would  reflect  in  its 
movement  almost  wholly  the  economic  conditions  in  this 
country.  That  so  large  a  part  of  the  Jewish  immigration, 
and  so  many  of  the  phenomena  peculiar  to  it,  find  their  ex- 
planation, for  the  largest  part  of  the  thirty  years,  in  the  situ- 
ation and  the  course  of  events  in  the  countries  of  Eastern 
Europe  leads  to  the  inevitable  conclusion  that  the  key  to  the 
Jewish  immigration  is  to  be  found  not  in  the  force  of  eco- 
nomic attraction  exercised  in  the  United  States  but  rather^ 
in  the  exceptional  economic,  social  and  legal  conditions  in 
Eastern  Europe  which  have  been  created  as  a  result  of  gov- 
ernmental persecution. 

Reviewing  the  various  phases  of  the  history  of  Jewish 
immigration  for  these  thirty  years,  we  are  enabled  to  see 
more  closely  its  nature.  The  study  of  the  immigration,  its 


!56        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [572 

movement  and  its  social  and  economic  characteristics,  in 
comparison  with  those  of  other  immigrant  peoples,  has  re- 
vealed in  it  a  number  of  distinguishing  traits.  In  the  causes 
'•of  the  emigration  of  the  Jews,  in  the  pressure  exerted  upon 
their  movement  as  reflected  in  their  rate  of  immigration,  in 
their  family  movement,  in  the  permanence  of  their  settle- 
ment, and  in  their  occupational  distribution  have  been  found 
characteristics  which  mark  them  off  from  the  rest  of  the 
immigrant  peoples.  The  number  of  these  characteristics 
and  the  degree  in  which  they  are  found  in  the  Jewish  immi- 
gration, put  it  in  a  class  by  itself. 

The  facts  of  governmental  pressure  amounting  to  an  ex- 
pulsive force,  and  reflected  in  an  extraordinary  rate  of  immi- 
gration, in  a  movement  of  families  unsurpassed  in  the  Amer- 
ican immigration,  the  largest  part  economically  dependent, 
in  an  occupational  grouping  of  skilled  artisans,  able  to  earn 
their  livelihood  under  normal  conditions,  and  in  a  perma- 
nence of  settlement  in  this  country  incomparable  in  degree 
and  indicating  that  practically  all  who  come  stay — all  these 
facts  lead  irresistibly  to  the  conclusion  that  in  the  Jewish 
movement  we  are  dealing,  not  with  an  immigration,  but  with 
a  miration.  What  we  are  witnessing  to-day  and  for  these 
thirty  years,  is  a  Jewish  migration  of  a  kind  and  degree 
almost  without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  Jewish  peo- 
ple. When  speaking  of  the  beginnings  of  Russian  Jewish 
immigration  to  Philadelphia,  David  Sulzberger  said :  "  In 
thirty  years  the  movement  of  Jews  from  Russia  to  the 
United  States  has  almost  reached  the  dignity  of  the  migra- 
tion of  a  people,"  he  used  no  literary  phrase.  In  view  of 
the  facts  that  have  developed,  this  statement  is  true  with- 
out any  qualification. 

This  migration-process  explains  the  remarkable  growth 
of  the  Jewish  population  in  the  United  States,  within  a  rela- 
tively short  period  of  time.  In  this  transplantation,  the 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 

spirit  of  social  solidarity  and  communal  responsibility  preva- 
lent among  the  Jews  has  played  a  vital  part. 

The  family  rather  than  the  individual  thus  becomes  the 
unit  for  the  social  life  of  the  Jewish  immigrant  population 
in  the  United  States.  In  this  respect  the  latter  approaches  * 
more  nearly  the  native  American  population  than  does  the 
foreign  white  or  immigrant  population.  One  of  the  great- 
est evils  incident  to  and  characteristic  of  the  general  immi- 
gration to  this  country  is  thereby  minimized. 

Again,  the  concentration  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  in  cer- 
tain trades  explains  in  great  measure  the  peculiarities  of  the 
occupational  and  the  urban  distribution  of  the  Jews  in  the 
United  States.  The  development  of  the  garment  trades 
through  Jewish  agencies  is  largely  explained  by  the  recruit- 
ing of  the  material  for  this  development  through  these 
laborers. 

These  primary  characteristics  of  the  Jewish  immigration 
of  the  last  thirty  years  will  serve  to  explain  some  of  the  »/ 
most  important  phases  of  the  economic  and  social  life  of 
the  Jews  in  the  United  States,  three-fourths  of  whom  are 
immigrants  of  this  period. 

Of  all  the  features  of  this  historic  movement  of  the  Jews 
from  Eastern  Europe  to  the  United  States,  not  the  least  in- 
teresting is  their  passing  from  civilizations  whose  bonds 
with  their  medieval  past  are  still  strong  to  a  civilization 
which  began  its  course  unhampered  by  tradition  and  un- 
yoked to  the  forms  and  institutions  of  the  past.  The  con- 
trast between  the  broad  freedom  of  this  democracy  and  the 
intolerable  despotism  from  whose  yoke  most  of  them  fled, 
has  given  them  a  sense  of  appreciation  of  American  politi- 
cal and  social  institutions  that  is  felt  in  every  movement  of 
their  mental  life. 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 


TABLE  I  A 

PARTICIPATION  OF  JEWS  IN  OCCUPATIONS  IN  THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  1897  l 


Group  of  occupation 

Total 

Jews 

Per  cent    of  total 

Agricultural  pursuits      •    • 

1824*5287 

4061  1 

Professional  service   .    .    .        . 

988813 

1  1Q^O 

7e 

Personal  service*       . 

C  T  COO  1  2 

277/166 

O 

5        A 

Manufacturing  and  mechanical 
pursuits                        .        .    . 

C  T6QQIO 

C/12  ^67 

•4 
IO   C 

Transportation 

7ld.7d.  C 

1U.^) 

6  A 

Commerce  * 

I2C677O 

AC2IQ7 

**JWJJW 

ftj£lyj 

Total  

•3  J  C2C.  I  O6 

T/17O727 

4e 

O 

1  Compiled  from  Rubinow,  p.  500. 
8  Cf.  Rubinow,  note,   p.  500. 

TABLE    I  B 

PARTICIPATION  OF  JEWS   IN   OCCUPATIONS   IN  THE  PALE  OF  JEWISH  SETTLEMENT, 

I897  l 


Group  of  occupation 

Total 

Jews 

Per  cent  of  total 

Agricultural  pursuits 

6o7  14.1  3 

•j8c-?8 

6 

Professional  service                . 

71  77IO 

6°:>60 
67278 

21    I 

Personal  service  * 

21  "?Qo8l 

2  CQO78 

ii  6 

Manufacturing  and  mechanical 
pursuits 

I  C.73  ^  IQ 

72   I 

Transportation 

2  1  IQ87 

AA\  77 

^      « 

20  8 

Commerce  a 

cc6o86 

426628 

76  7 

/u.  / 

Total    , 

10870602 

I77K07 

12.2 

158 


Compiled  from  Rubinow,  p.  501. 
3  Cf.    Rubinow,  note,  p.  500. 


[574 


575] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 


159 


TABLE  II 

JEWISH    IMMIGRATION   AT  THE   PORTS   OF   NEW  YORK,  PHILADELPHIA  AND   BALTI- 
MORE, JULY  TO    JUNE,   1886  to   1898  l 


Year 

New  York 

Philadelphia 

Baltimore 

Total 

1886  
1887  
1888             .  . 

19548 
30866 
26946 

1625 
2178 
19-21: 

• 
. 

21173 

33044 
28881 

1889       

279158 

I  -2Q4 

2S7S2 

1800  . 

26963 

1676 

28679 

1891  
1892 

47098 
66<\A4 

2719 
4.677 

IS811 

ci  C2 

51398 
76777 

1897  . 

290  eg 

4W/ 
4722* 

->  •> 
1941 

35322 

180.1 

274.4.4. 

7877 

1902 

291  79 

igoc 

21422 

jojJ 
7672 

1097 

26191 

1896  
1807 

27846 

171,62 

y*l* 

30l6 

1617 

1986 

I7Q7 

32848 
20372 

1808 

19222 

2121 

2311 

2;6t;4 

Total  . 

780278 

74.781 

17767 

4.724.26 

1  Table  II  and  all  succeeding  tables  are   arranged    from  July  ist  to  June   3Oth, 
the  fiscal  year. 

'  Baltimore  statistics  begin  October.       *  Philadelphia  figures  for  August  missing. 

TABLE  III 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  AT  THE  PORT  OF  NEW  YORK,  JULY,    1885,  TO  JUNE,  1 886, 
BY  MONTH  AND  COUNTRY  OF  NATIVITY1 


Month 

Russia 

Austria-Hungary 

Roumania 

Others 

Total 

July    . 

1  1  TO 

7C4 

58 

107 

1649 

August  

1512 

448 

33 

121 

2114 

September     .    .    . 

945 

185 

20 

H9 

1269 

October  

785 

236 

12 

216 

1249 

November  .... 

1347 

589 

21 

80 

2037 

December  .... 

574 

249 

17 

62 

902 

January  

565 

202 

4 

26 

797 

February  .... 

492 

228 

16 

44 

780 

March    

1077 

444 

3S 

66 

1622 

April   

639 

309 

28 

55 

1031 

May    

791 

521 

31 

70 

1413 

June  

3017 

1365 

210 

93 

4685 

Total  .  .    . 

12874 

5130 

485 

1059 

19548 

1  Compiled  from  reports  of  the  United  Hebrew  Charities  of  New  York. 


!6o        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [576 


TABLE   IV  A 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  AT  THE  PORT  OF  PHILADELPHIA,  1 886  TO  1898, 
BY  COUNTRY  OF  NATIVITY 


Year 

d 

'$ 

c 

8 

•sl 

c 
o 

'c 

rt 

S 

§ 

52 

1 

3 

3 

£ 

|gg 

£ 

1 

0 

£ 

£ 

1886  . 

1218 

75 

196 

12 

33 

2 

178 

n 

1625 

1887  . 

1600 

78 

262 

I  2 

86 

171 

5 

_    _Q 

1888  

1432 

74 

232 

12 

97 

5 

1  J1 

174 

9 

1935 

1889  

1129 

81 

125 

9 

42 

98 

7 

1394 

1800 

1424 

85 

184 

I  T 

"2/1 

2 

"2/1 

2 

1676 

1801  .  . 

2447 

oo 

l 

i 

272 

IO 

07  *  Q 

1892  

3929 

84 

561 

12 

47 

I 

140 

3 

•/•v 

4677 

1893  

3025 

70 

519 

12 

43 

I 

735 

17 

4322 

1804 

2QCI 

77 

422 

j  j 

77 

2 

IO 

*2  X*3  *5 

IQ87 

14 

624 

I  7 

77 

2 

002 

27 

6-7 

1896  .... 

1538 

51 

875 

1  1 
29 

/  j 
60 

2 

543 

18 

3Ol6 

1897  

1049 

65 

355 

22 

32 

2 

177 

ii 

l6l3 

1898 

161  1 

76 

18 

64. 

2121 

3  2 

Total.  .  . 

25435 

73 

4737 

14 

688 

2 

3921 

ii 

34781 

1  Immigrants   from   Austria-Hungary  and   Roumania  were  this  year  grouped 
under  "  all  others"  in  the  original  tables. 

TABLE    IV  B 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  AT  THE  PORT  OF  BALTIMORE,   189!  TO  1898, 
BY  COUNTRY  OF  NATIVITY 


Year 

rt 

q 

0> 

S 

2  c3 

"c 

.5 

'c 

rt 

1 

c 
<u 

i 

p 

"K  ffi 

o 

o 

(U 

u 

3 

& 

^ 

>£3 

aj 

o 

£ 

^ 

i 

PH 

0 

PH 

H 

1891  

1427 

QO 

j 

1 

158 

IO 

i  81 

1892      .... 

4728 

84 

618 

1  2 

C2 

j 

1  1\4 

c  i  C2 

1893  

1388 

70 

232 

12 

19 

I 

302 

17 

1941 

1804  ..... 

1461 

77 

209 

1  1 

38 

2 

I9O 

IO 

I9O2 

1895  

592 

11 
54 

187 

17 

22 

2 

296 

27 

1097 

1896  

1013 

S76 

29 

40 

2 

357 

18 

1986 

1897  

908 

65 

307 

22 

28 

2 

154 

u 

1397 

1898  .    . 

1757 

76 

416 

,8 

69 

3 

69 

3 

23II 

Total.    .    . 

12874 

74 

2545 

15 

268 

2 

1680 

9 

17367 

Immigrants   from  Austria- Hungary  and   Roumania  were  this  year   grouped 
under  "  all  others  "  in  the  original  tables. 


577] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 


TABLE  V1 


161 


JEWISH    IMMIGRATION   AT  THE  PORTS  OF   NEW  YORK,  PHILADELPHIA  AND  BALTI- 
MORE, 1886  TO   1898,  BY  COUNTRY  OF  NATIVITY 


Ports 

Year 

Country  of  nativity 

New  York 

Phila- 
delphia 

Baltimore 

Total 

1886 

Russia 

12874 

1218 

• 

14092 

Austria-  Hungary  .  .  . 

Roumania.  .  .  • 

5J30 
481; 

196 
33 

5326 
518 

1887  . 

Russia  .  • 

21404 

1600 

2310^ 

1888 

Austria-  Hungary  .  .  . 
Roumania  

6636 
1977 
18784 

262 

86 

1432 

•    - 

6898 
2063 
20216 

1880 

Austria-  Hungary  .  .  . 
Roumania.  .  .  .  . 
Russia 

5753 
1556 

I72OQ 

232 
97 

1  1  2O 

•   • 

5985 
1653 
18338 

Austria-Hungary  .  .  . 
Roumania 

4873 

1016 

125 
42 

•    • 

i<JOJ" 

4998 
iOs8 

1800  . 

Russia  .  .  . 

IQCC7 

1424 

20981 

l8qi  . 

Austria-Hungary  .  .  . 
Roumania  
Russia  .... 

6255 
428 
301:87 

184 

34 

2447 

1423 

6439 
462 
434^7 

Austria-  Hungary  .  .  . 
Roumania  

5890 
854 

^ 

i 

i 

5890 
8  "54 

1802  . 

ccqo6 

3Q20 

4328 

64253 

1803  . 

Austria-Hungary  .  .  . 
Roumania  
Russia  . 

7464 
641 
20748 

56l 

47 
302? 

618 

52 
1388 

8643 
740 
25161 

1804  . 

Austria-Hungary  .  .  . 
Roumania.  .  .  . 
Russia  ..... 

5612 

493 
163^1 

519 
43 

2CKI 

232 
19 
1461; 

6363 
555 

2O747 

Austria-Hungary  .  .  . 
Roumania  

5285 
CGI 

422 

77 

209 
^8 

59i6 
616 

i8oc  . 

Russia  .  . 

14!  Z2 

1083 

CQ2 

16727 

Austria-Hungary  .  .  . 
Roumania. 

5236 

423 

624 
73 

I87 
22 

6047 
518 

1896  . 

Russia  .  .  .  . 

I76l  7 

I<538 

IOI3 

20168 

1807  . 

Austria-Hungary  .  .  . 
Roumania  
Russia  

8380 
644 
1  1  1  06 

815 
60 

I  O4Q 

576 
40 
908 

9831 
744 
13063 

1808  . 

Austria-Hungary  .  .  . 
Roumania  
Rucsia 

5010 
456 
11581 

355 
32 
161  1 

307 
28 

I7S7 

5672 
516 

I4Q4Q 

Austria-  Hungary  .  . 
Roumania  

6569 
587 

382 
64 

416 
69 

7367 
720 

Total. 



380278 

3478i 

17367 

432426 

^ee  note  to  Tables  IVA  and  IVs.     For  Tables  VI  and  VII,  see  pp. 
93  and  94. 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES 


[578 


TABLE  VIII 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES,  l88l  TO  IpIO,  ABSOLUTE  NUMBERS 
AND  PERCENTAGES,  BY  DECADE  AND  COUNTRY  OF  NATIVITY 


Country  of  nativity 

Absolute  numbers 

Pe 

1881- 
1890 

rcentages 

Total 

1881- 
1890 

1891-1  1901- 
1900  I  1910 

1891- 
1900 

I9OI- 
I9IO 

Russia  
Austria-Hungary    .    .    . 
Roumania  

1119059 
281150 
67057 
42589 
20454 
9701 
5081 
2273 
15436 

135003 
44619 
6967 

5354 

. 

1078 

279811 
83720 
12789 

8827 
8369 

704245 
152811 
47301 
42589 
6273 
9701 
5081 
2273 
5989 

69.9 
23.1 
3-6 

2.8 

* 
.6 

71.1 
21.3 
3-2 

2.3 

2.1 

72.1 

15-7 

4-8 
4.4 
•  7 

I.O 

•5 

.2 

.6 

United  Kingdom    .    .    . 
Germany  

British  North  America  . 
Turkey 

France  .                       • 

All  others 

Total 

1562800 

193021 

393516976263 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

TABLE  IX 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA,  l88l  TO  I9IO,  BY  YEAR  AND  PERCENTAGE  OF 
TOTAL  ARRIVING  EACH  YEAR 


Year 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

1881 

•5  12  C 

O  3 

1882  .   

3l*J 
10489 

"•J 

O  Q 

188^ 

6  I  44 

O  C 

1884 

7867 

WO 

07 

1885 

10648 

o 

1886 

I4OQ2 

•J 

1887 

21  IO3 

•J 
1 

1888  
1889 

2O2l6 

l8ll8 

.8 
6 

1890 

20981 

Q 

1891 

43457 

3Q 

1892 

642  $1 

57 

1803  • 

25161 

2.2 

1804  . 

2O747 

1.9 

iSoc 

l6727 

I  c 

1896 

2OI6& 

I  8 

1807 

im 

I  3OOT^ 

1  2 

1898 

I4Q4.Q 

I  3 

1899  . 

2427C 

2.2 

1900  

IQOI 

370II 
3766O 

3-3 
3.4 

IQO2 

3784.6 

3  4 

IQO3 

47680 

4  3 

IQO4 

771:4.4. 

69 

IQQC 

/  /  jf¥ 
Q2388 

8.2 

IQO6 

1  2  <,  2  34. 

II.  2 

IQO7 

1  14932 

IO.3 

1908   ...        ... 

7IQ78 

6.4 

IQOQ 

391  ^O 

3.c 

1910  .  . 

1:0824 

C.3 

Total  ... 

UI9OC9 

IOO.O 

579] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 
TABLE  X 


JEWISH    IMMIGRATION    FROM    RUSSIA,    l88l  to   1 9 1C,  BY  DECADE  AND  PERCENTAGE 
OF  TOTAL  AKKIVINti  EACH  DECADE 


Decade 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

1881-1890            .        .                ... 

I7COO7 

12.  1 

I  80  I     19OO 

270X1  i 

2^O 

I9OI     I9IO 

7O424.  ? 

62  Q 

Total 

1  1  IQO1Q 

IOO  O 

TABLE  XI 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA  AT  THE  PORT  OF  NEW  YORK,  JANUARY  I,  189! 

TO  DECEMBER  31,  1891,  AND  JANUARY  I,   1892  TO  DECEMBER  31,  1892, 

BY  MONTH 

(From  reports  of  United  Hebrew  Charities  of  New  York  City,  1891  and  1892) 


January  .  . 
February  . 
March  .  . 
April  .  .  . 
May  .  .  . 
June  .  .  . 
July  .  .  . 
Aupust  .  . 
September 
October  .  . 
November . 
December  . 


Total 


Month 


Jewish  immigrants 


1891 

1892 

2179 

3276 

2185 

3°57 

3J5Q 

2307 

2714 

1468 

1225 

1620 

8667 

4028 

8253 

5673 

9109 

4842 

9422 

1729 

52.55 

4.6 

3792 

121 

4310 

198 

60261 

28834 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES 


[580 


TABLE  XII 

TOTAL  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA  AND   JEWISH    IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA,   l88l 
TO   IQIO,  AND    PERCENTAGE  JEWISH  OF  TOTAL 


i88r   5041 

J882 .  .  16918 

1883 9^09 

1884 12689 

1*85 17158 

1886 17800 

1887 30766 

1888 33487 

1889 339'6 

'890 35598 

1891 47426 

1892 81511 

1893 42310 

1894 30278 

i895 35907 

1896 51435 

1897 25816 

1898 29828 

1899 60982 

1900 90787 

1901 85257 

1902 IC7347 

1903 I36°93 

1904 H5MI 

1905 184897 

1906  215665 

1907 ...  258943 

1908 156711 

1909  120460 

1910  186792 

Total 2315868 


Total 
immigrants 


Jewish 
immigrants 


3125 

10489 

6144 

7867 

10648 

14092 

23103 

20316 

I8338 
20981 

43457 
.  64253 
25161 
20747 
16727 
20168 

13'  63 

14049 

24275 
37011 

37660 
37846 
47689 

77544 
92388 

125234 

114932 

71978 

30150 

59824 


ii 19059 


Per  cent  of 
total 


Est. 
at 

62.0 
79-2 

75-i 
60.4 

54-1 
58.9 

91.6 

78.8 

5°-5 
52.8 

43-2 

30.  2 

50.6 

50.1 
398 

40.8 

44.2 

3^3 
350 
53-4 
50.0 
58-1 
44-4 
45-9 
32-5 
32.1 


483 


TABLE  XIII 

TOTAL  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA    AND   JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA,   l88l 
TO  1910,  BY  DECADE,  AND  PERCKNIAGE   JEWISH  OF  TOTAL 


Decade 


Total 
immigrants 


Jewish 
immigrants 


Per  cent  of 
total 


1881-1890 
1891-1900 
1901-1910 


Total. 


213282 

505280 

1597306 


135003 
27981 i 
704245 


2315868 


1119059 


63.3 
554 
44.1 


48.3 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 


165 


TABLE  XIV 

IMMIGRATION  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  FROM  THE    RUSSIAN   EMPIRE,  1899  TO  I9IO, 
BY  ANNUAL  PERCENTAGE  OF  CONTRIBUTION  OF  PRINCIPAL  PFOPLtS1 


Finnish 

German 

Jewish 

Lithuanian 

Polish 

Russian 

1899  .  . 

9-9 

8.8 

39-8 

II.  2 

25-4 

2.7 

I  900   .    . 

13-8 

5-9 

40.8 

"•3 

24.8 

i-3 

1901    .    . 

11.7 

6.6 

44.2 

10.  0 

25.2 

.8 

1902   .   . 

12.9 

8.0 

35-3 

9-3 

31-5 

1.4 

1903  .  . 

13-8 

7-7 

35-o 

10.6 

29.1 

2.6 

1904  .  . 

6.9 

4-9 

53  4 

8.8 

22.4 

2.7 

1905  .  . 

9.0 

36 

50.0 

9-5 

25-5 

1.8 

1906  .   . 

6  2 

4.8 

58.1 

6.4 

21.4 

2.4 

1907  .  . 

5-5 

5-2 

44-4 

9.6 

28.2 

6.2 

1908  .  . 

4.0 

6.4 

459 

8-5 

24.2 

10.4 

1909  .  . 

9-3 

6-5 

325 

12.  1 

31-4 

7.6 

1910   .   . 

8.0 

5-4 

32.1 

11.6 

34-1 

7-9 

Total  . 

8.5 

5.8 

43-8 

,  . 

9.6 

27.0 

4-4 

1  From  Immigration  Commission :  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  p.  338. 

TABLE  XV 

RATE   OF   IMMIGRATION   OF  PEOPLES   PREDOMINANT  IN  THE   IMMIGRATION  FROM 
RUSSIA,  1899  TO  I9I01 


Average  annual  immi- 

Population in  Russia 

gration  to  LJ.  S.  from 

Ratio  of 

People 

1807  and  in  Finland 

Russia  and  Finland 

immigration 

1900  combined 

1899-1910 

to  populatioi 

Jewish  

5082343  » 

63-94 

to    79 

Finnish    .... 

2352990 

12^48 

to  191 

Polish  

7865437 

39282 

to  200 

German    .... 

1721387 

8401 

to  205 

Lithuanian  .    .    . 

3077436 

14062 

to  212 

Swedish  .... 

34P733 

IT35 

to  308 

Russian   .... 

75434753 

6550 

to  1155 

llhid.,  p.  339. 

1  The  figure  for  the  Jewish  population  in  Russia  as  given  in  Emigration  Con~ 
ditions  in  Europe,  p.  339,  is  incorrect.  See  Goldberg,  Judische  Statistik,  pages 
266  and  270. 


Z66        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [582 

TABLE    XVI 

RATE  OF  JEWISH   IMMIGRATION  FROM    RUSSIA,  PER  IOOOO  OF  JEWISH  POPULATION, 

1899  TO  I9IO 


Year 

Ratio  of  immigration 

Year 

Ratio  of  immigration 

1899    .... 
1900    .... 
1901     .... 

47 
72 

74 

1906    .        .    . 
1907    .... 
1908    .... 

246 
226 
141 

1902    .... 

74 

1909    .... 

77 

1903     .... 

93 

1910    .... 

117 

1904    .... 
1905    .... 

152 
181 

Total   .    .    . 

125 

TABLE  XVII 

JEWISH   IMMIGRATION   FROM   ROUMANIA,  l88l  TO  1910,  BY  DECADE  AND 
PERCENTAGE  OF  TOTAL  ARRIVING  EACH  DECADE 


Decade 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

1881-1890           .    .    .    

6967 

10.4. 

1891-1900   ...            ...        .    . 

12780 

IQ.I 

A77QI 

7O.  < 

Total  

670157 

IOO.O 

583] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 
TABLE  XVIII 


167 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  FROM  ROUMAMA,  l88l   TO  I9IO,BY  YEAR  AND  PERCENTAGE 
OF  TOTAL  ARRIVING  EACH  YEAR 


Year 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

1881             ... 

•7Q 

i 

1882  

65 

.1 

1883      .           .... 

77 

18X4  .          

238 

.3 

188* 

803 

1.2 

1886  

ci8 

.8 

1887 

2063 

31 

1888 

i6ci 

•  * 

2  S 

1889 

locS 

I  6 

1890 

462 

7 

1  80  1   . 

8C4 

I.-? 

1802  .                                 ... 

740 

I.I 

1807  . 

ccir 

.8 

i""* 

1804  . 

616 

i8oc 

<i8 

0 

1896  

I.I 

1807 

<n6 

8 

180.8 

720 

i.i 

1899  •  .  .  . 

1343 
6183 

2.0 
Q.  2 

6827 

IO  2 

1902                                          ...                 . 

6c8o 

9  8 

TOO  7 

8«;62 

12.8 

IQO4 

6446 

9  6 

JQOC      .                                                                                           .       . 

38<C4 

C.7 

•^872 

5.8 

•?6o? 

c.4 

iqo8  .                             

44  cc 

6.6 

IQOQ 

I-JQO 

2.1 

1910                         .     .                                        .     . 

I  7O  I 

2,t 

Total 

670^7 

ICO  O 

1  Below  one-tenth  per  cent. 


j68        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [584 

TABLE  XIX 

TOTAL  IMMIGRATION  FROM  ROUMANIA  AND  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  FROM  ROU- 
MANIA,  1899  TO  1910,  AND  PERCENTAGE  JEWISH  OF  TOTAL 


Year 

Total  immigrants 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

1800    . 

1606 

1747 

83.6 

64  SO 

6187 

oc.7 

IQOI 

71  CC 

6827 

or  4 

71Q6 

6^89 

QI.6 

TOO  7 

Q-3  TO 

8562 

QI  Q 

IQO4 

7087 

6446 

QI  O 

44-77 

^Su 

86.8 

y    •> 
IQOO                                 • 

4476 

0872 

86.1; 

4^84 

7601; 

r^'j 

82.2 

1  908 

C228 

44CC 

8;.  2 

$*.£.<*> 
I  CQO 

I^QO 

~* 

87.4 

2I4C 

I7OI 

79.7 

Total  .... 

61073 

54827 

89.8 

TABLE  XX 

RATE  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  FROM  ROUMANIA,  PER  IOOOO  OF  JEWISH 
POPULATION,  1899  TO  I9IO1 


Year 

Ratio  of  immigration 

Year 

Ratio  of  immigration 

iXnn 

C  T 

1906  ....  .... 

T4.Q 

2.8 

*s-v 
1^8 

262 

igcS    

171 

2C7 

e-j 

•^jJ 
72O 

65 

s*v 

IQOC 

4o 

148 

Total  

I7« 

1  For  Jewish  population  in  Roumania  cf .  Ruppin,  The  Jews  of  To-Day ',  p.  30. 


585] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 
TABLE  XXI 


169 


JEWISH    IMMIGRATION    FROM   AUSTRIA-HUNGARY,   l88l    TO  igiO,    BY  DECADE    AND 
PERCENTAGE  OF  TOTAL  ARRIVING  EACH  DECADE 


Decade 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

i  88  i   1890               .    . 

44.610 

ICQ 

1891—1900                     •                           • 

83720 

2Q  8 

IOOI—I9IO     . 

152811 

C.4  7. 

Total  

281150 

100.  0 

TABLE  XXII 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  FROM  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY,  l88l  TO  IpIO,  BY  YEAR,  AND 
PERCENTAGE  OF  TOTAL  ARRIVING  EACH  YEAR 


Year 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

1881  

2^77 

.0 

1882  

2648 

.0 

1883 

2C  10 

Q 

1884 

774O 

I  2 

1885  

w8 

1.4 

1886  . 

$126 

I  Q 

1887 

6898 

2  4 

1888   .  . 

rqSc 

2  I 

1880  . 

4.008 

I  8 

1890  . 

6479 

2.7 

1801  . 

c8oo 

2  I 

1802  . 

8647 

31 

ivy*.   .......        

1807 

6163 

2  7 

*  "j  •            

1804  . 

CQl6 

2  I 

iSoq  . 

2y 
6047 

2  2 

1896  

98;  i 

7.  C 

1807 

H672 

2  O 

1898 

7l67 

2  6 

1899  .    .   ... 

I  IO7I 

30 

IQOO  . 

16920 

6.0 

I9OI  .,.    .           ... 

13006 

4.6 

IQO2 

12848 

4  6 

I  QO7 

l87^O 

6  7 

IQO4  . 

2Q2  I  I 

7  2 

1905  

1006  . 

17352 
14884 

62 

C  -2 

IQO7  . 

18885 

6.7 

1908 

I  ^2Q7 

5   A 

IQOQ 

8471 

3O 

IQIO  . 

1  7142 

4  7 

Total  .  . 

28l  150 

IOO.O 

I7o        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [586 


TABLE  XXIII 

TOTAL  AND  JEWISH   IMMIGRATION   FROM     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY,    l88l    TO    IQIO,   BY 
DECADE  AND  PERCENTAGE  JEWISH  OF  TOTAL 


Decade 

Total  immigrants 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

1881-1890  

1,57719 

44619 

12.6 

1891-1900  ...... 

502707 

83720 

14.1 

1901—1910  ..... 

2145266 

158811 

7-4 

Total    .... 

3091692 

281150 

9-i 

TABLE   XXIV 

TOTAL  AND    JEWISH   IMMIGRATION   FROM   AUSTRIA-HUNGARY,  l88l  TO  I9IO,  AND 
PERCENTAGE  JEWISH  OF  TOTAL 


Year 

Total  immigrants 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

1881  

27Q7C 

25^7 

Est. 

1882  

2QI  ^O 

2648 

188?  , 

2762? 

25IO 

at 

1884  .... 

•26571 

-3-340 

9.0 

1881; 

277OQ 

•3978 

14.4 

1886  . 

28680 

jyj 
5^26 

18.6 

1887  
1888  

40265 
4^811 

6808 
5985 

17.1 
13.1 

1889  
1800  . 

34174 
56100 

6439 

14.6 
11.5 

1801 

71042 

5890 

8.3 

1892  

760^7 

8643 

II.  2 

180-?  . 

{742O 

6363 

II.  I 

1894  
1891;  

38638 
•2-3401 

f 
5916 

6047 

15-3 

18.1 

1896  
1807  . 

65103 

"33O7I 

9831 
5672 

I5-I 
17.2 

1808  

"3Q7Q7 

7767 

18.5 

1800  . 

O249I 

IIO7I 

17.7 

1900  ...        . 

1  14847 

16920 

14.7 

1901  

II3390 
I7IQ8Q 

13006 
12848 

ii.  5 

7.5 

2O6OI  I 

18759 

9.1 

IQO4     .  .  . 

1771  56 

2O2II 

11.4 

27560"? 

17352 

6-3 

265n8 

14884 

5.6 

1907   

1008  

TQOQ 

338452 
168509 
I  7OIQI 

18885 

I5293 
84-31 

5.6 
9.1 
5  ° 

2587-37 

I3I42 

5-i 

Total  .... 

3091692 

28II50 

9.1 

STATISTICAL  TABLES 
TABLE  XXV 


I/I 


PERCENTAGE  OF  ANNUAL  IMMIGRATION  FROM  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  CONTRIBUTED  BY 
PRINCIPAL  PEOPLES,  1899  TO  IpIO  l 


Year 

Polish 

Jewish 

Ruthenian 

1800    . 

18.7 

17.7 

2.2 

10.  Q 

14.7 

2.5 

17.9 

11.5 

4-7 

IQO2                •                «     • 

18  Q 

7.  c 

4-4 

1007 

18  2 

0.  I 

48 

IQOd 

17.  1 

11.4 

5-3 

IQQC 

18.4 

6.3 

5.2 

IQO6 

16.5 

5.6 

5.9 

IOO7      . 

17.6 

5.6 

7.0 

1008    . 

ic.  7 

9.1 

7  2 

21.4 

5.0 

9.0 

22.6 

4.9 

10.2 

Total 

18.6 

7-8 

6.2 

1  From  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  p.  373, 


TABLE  XXVI 

RATE  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION   FROM   AUSTRIA-HUNGARY,  PER    IOOOO  OF  JEWISH 
POPULATION,  1899  TO  1910  l 


Ratio  of  immigration 

Ratio  of  immigration 

1899  .... 

1900  .... 
1901  .... 
1902  .... 

1903  .... 

83 
63 
62 

90 

1906  .... 

1907    ... 
1908    .... 
1909    .    .    . 
1910    .... 

72 
91 
74 
41 
63 

1904  .... 

1905  .... 

97 
84 

Total   .    . 

I 

74 

1  For  Jewish  population  in  Austria-Hungary  cf.  Ruppin,  The  Jews  of  To-Day , 
PP-  38-39- 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [588 
TABLE  XXVII 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION,  1 88 1  TO  igiO,  BY  DECADE 


Decade 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

iSSl-lSQO     4 

IQ7O2I 

127 

1  80  1    IQOO  ................... 

•7QOC  1  6 

•*»J 

2C  2 

0*76267 

•3** 

62  c 

U-*O 

Xotal  

I  s  62800 

IOO  O 

TABLE  XXVIII 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION,  1 88 1  TO  IpIO,  BY  SIX-YEAR  PERIOD 


Period 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

>7'7IOC 

A.  Q 

1887  1892  

//*'-'.> 
24768? 

ic  6 

1893  1808                           • 

167566 

I^.U 

7Q64Od. 

lO.y 
2C  4 

678038 

*J^ 

47  4 

^O'T- 

Total.. 

I  U62800 

IOO.O 

589] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 
TABLE  XXIX 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES,  l88l  TO  IQIO 


173 


Year 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

!88i  

C6p2 

j  882       

1  3202 

8 

1881.  . 

87^1 

e 

!884  

IT44.C 

.7 

1  885  

16862 

.1 

j886  

21  173 

•7 

!887  

37O44. 

I 

j888  

OJ'-'^ 

28<N8i 

8 

1889  

OC  2C2 

6 

•*3j;)* 
286^0 

8 

1801  .  .                       

ci-?o8 

•3.1 

76^7^ 

d.  Q 

•7C-222 

2  3 

i8od  

2QI7Q 

I.Q 

iXoc    .                       

26191 

I  7 

1  896  

328d.8 

•*/ 

2  I 

1807.  . 

2O  372 

I  3 

1898  

226C4. 

I.e 

1800.  . 

77J.  I  C 

2  4. 

60764 

3  Q 

58008 

J'7 

37 

I9O2   

57688 

37 

5/v^oo 
76203 

•/ 

4.  Q 

68 

IQOC       .                                                                  ..... 

1299  10 

8  3 

I  C  374.8 

°-j 

Q  Q 

I4.Q  182 

Q  6 

j  Q08         

IO3787 

6  6 

1WJO°/ 
rne  e  i 

3  7 

57551 
84260 

J'/ 

r  ^ 

O'^ 

Total  

1562800 

IOO  O 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES 


[590 


TABLE  XXX 

TOTAL  IMMIGRATION  AND  JEWISH   IMMIGRATION,    l83l  TO  IQIO,  BY  DECADE  AND 
PERCENTAGE  JEWISH  OF  TOTAL 


Decade 

Total 
immigrants 

Jewish 
immigrants 

Per  cent 
of  total 

1881   1890  

524661  3 

IQ  3O2  I 

•7  7 

3687^64 

•2Q9C  l6 

IO  1 

870^386 

0^0:5  IW 
07626"? 

»v./ 

Ill 

Total  

1  7720^63 

i  ^62800 

88 

TABLE  XXXI 

TOTAL  IMMIGRATION  AND  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION,  l88l  TO  IQIO,  BY  YEAR  AND 
PERCENTAGE  JEWISH  OF  TOTAL 


Year 

Total 
immigrants 

Jewish 
immigrants 

Per  cent 
of  total 

.«£* 

6604*?  i 

c6Q2 

Q 

TCx2 

788002 

13202 

I  7 

lgg3        

603322 

8731 

CI&CQ2 

I  I44H 

2.2 

,gg£  

30  ^  ^4.6 

16862 

4.3 

jgg6  

3342C3 

2II73 

*J 

6.3 

,OC7 

4.QO1  OQ 

33O44 

6? 

icsa 

^46880 

2888l 

c  -i 

jggn                    

444427 

2C3C2 

D'O 

c  7 

AC  C3O2 

286^0 

63 

C6O3IO 

CJ3Qg 

9.2 

?7Q66'? 

76^73 

13.2 

43Q73O 

3C322 

8.0 

28q63I 

2QI  7Q 

IO.2 

i  gnr  .  

2^81:36 

26191 

IO.I 

igo,6  

•7x^267 

32848 

Q  6 

2  -0832 

2O372 

88 

Jg9g  

22Q2QQ 

2361?  4 

IO.7 

tllTIC 

374.1  e 

12  O 

4485,72 

60764. 

I3.r 

487018 

58098 

12.1 

IQO2               

64874  "? 

57688 

go 

TO0  1 

gc  7046 

"6203 

C 
0.9 

812870 

1  ;    ^ 

106236 

1  1.  8 

IC264QO 

I2QQIO 

126 

I  IOO73I; 

I  ^3748 

13.4 

I  28^  74Q 

140182 

ii  6 

782870 

103387 

13  2 

«7C  |ng6 

C7CCI 

7.7 

IO4I  t;7O 

84260 

Li 

Total  

I772QC63 

1562800 

8.8 

Only  immigrant  aliens  taken  these  years. 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 
TABLE  XXXII 


175 


TOTAL  AND  JEWISH    IMMIGRATION,    1 88 1  TO    igiO,  BY  NUMBER    AND    PERCENTAGE 
OF  INCREASE  OR  DECREASE 


Year 

Total  immigrants 

Jewish 

immigrants 

Increase  (  +  )  or  decrease  (  —  ) 

Increase  (  +  )  or  decrease  (  —  ) 

Number 

Per  cent 

Number 

Per  cent 

jggT  

+  119561 
—  185670 

—  84730 
—123246 
—  61143 
+  155906 
+  56780 
—  102462 
+  10875 

+  105017 
+  19344 
—139933 
—154099 
—  27095 
+  84731 
—112435 

—  1533 
+  82416 

+  136857 

+  39346 
+  160825 
+  208303 
—  44176 
+  213629 
+  74236 
+  184614 
—502479 
—  31084 
+289784 

4-17-9 

—23-5 
—  14.0 

-23.8 

—15-5 

+46.7 
+  11.6 
-18.7 
+  2.4 

+  20.9 

+  34 
—24.1 

—35-° 
—  9-5 
+32.8 
-32.8 

—  -7 
+  36.0 

+43-9 

+  8.8 
+330 

+32-1 

+  26.3 
+  7-2 
+  16.8 

—39-1 
—  4.0 

-t-38.5 

4-  75°9 
—  447  * 
+  2714 

+  5417 
4-  449i 
+  11871 
+  4163 
—  3529 
+  3287 

+22759 
4-24975 
—39051 
—  6143 
"988 

i 
.... 

4-i3T-9 
—  33-9 
+  31-1 

t  41'3 
+  26.7 

+  56.1 

+  12.6 
—  12.2 

4-  13-0 

+  79-5 
+  48.6 

—  51-1 

—  17.4 

—  10.2 
+  254 
—  38.0 

+  16.1 
+  58-2 
+  62.4 

-  4-4 
—   -7 
+  32-1 

4-  39-4 

+  22.1 
+  1  8.2 

—  3-o 
-30.7 
—  44-3 
+  46.4 

jgg2  

188?  ., 

igg^  

jggr  

Xg86  

!ggy  

1888 

jggp  

I  goo  

1891  . 

jgQ2  

l8Q7  .  , 

l8Q4  . 

lJ?OC 

rg96  

+  6657 
—12476 
+  3282 
+  13761 
+23349 

—  2666 
—  410 

+  18515 
+3C033 
+  23674 
•+23838 
—  4566 
—45795 
-45836 
+  26709 

1807 

1097  

l8q8  ..  . 

iyv*  ; 

IQOd.  . 

TQOC  . 

1908  ....    ' 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [592 
TABLE  XXXIII 

SEX  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS,  1899  TO  X9 IO  * 


Year 

Total 

Number 

Per  cent 

Male 

Female 

Male 

Female 

374^5 
60764 
58098 
57688 
76203 
106236 
129910 
153748 
149182 
103387 
5755' 
84260 

21153 
36330 
32345 
32737 
43985 
65040 
82076 
8cc86 
80530 
56277 

31057 
46206 

16262 
24434 
25753 
24951 
32218 
41196 

47^4 
73662 

58652 
47110 
26494 
38054 

56.5 
59-8 
55-7 
56-7 
57-7 
61.2 
63.2 
52.1 
54-0 
54-4 
54-0 
54-8 

43-5 
40.2 

44-3 
44-3 
42-3 
38.8 
36.8 

47-9 
46.0 

45-6 
46.0 

45.* 

IQO2       •  • 

IQO? 

I  QOA  .  .  .  i  .  . 

TQOC  .  . 

I9O8     .... 

TQOQ 

IQ1O  ...  .... 

Total  . 

1074442 

607822 

466620 

56.6 

43-4 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissioner -General  of  Immigration. 
TABLE  XXXIV 

SEX  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRANT  ADULTS  l   AT  THE  PORT  OF  NEW  YORK,  1 886  TO  1898  2 


Year 

Total 

Number 

Per  cent 

Male 

Female 

Male 

Female 

1886  .. 

14212 
22223 
19456 

i7'55 
19449 

33343 
43155 
18314 
13142 
12366 
17052 
10226 
11530 

9598 
13872 
11691 
9946 
11524 
20980 
25338 

9715 
6404 
6275 
97°3 
5447 
6560 

4614 
8351 
7765 
7209 

7925 
12363 
17817 
8599 
6738 
6091 

7349 
4779 
4970 

67.5 
62.4 
60.  i 
58.0 

59-3 
62.9 

58.7 
53-o 
48.7 
5°-7 
56-9 
53-3 
56.9 

32.5 
37-6 
39-9 
42.0 
40.7 
37-1 
41-3 
47.0 
5«-3 
49-3 
43-1 
46.7 

43-i 

lg87   

jggg  

jggg  

l8QO.  . 

I  g(j  I  

l892 

I  80  7.  . 

tgn-i  

2896  

1807  .  . 

Ills.. 

Total  

251623 

147053 

104570 

58.4 

41.6 

1  Sixteen  years  of  age  and  over. 

a  From  Reports  of  United  Hebrew  Charities  of  N.  Y.  City. 


593] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 
TABLE  XXXV 

AGE  OF  JEWISH   IMMIGRANTS,  iSgg  TO  IQIO1 


177 


Number 

Percentage 

Year 

Total 

Under 

14  to 

45  and 

Under 

14  to 

45  and 

14 

44 

over 

14 

44 

over 

1899  •• 

37415 

8987 

26019 

2409 

24.0 

69.5 

6.5 

1900  •• 

60764 

13092 

44239 

3433 

21.6 

72.8 

5-6 

1901  •  • 

58098 

I473I 

39830 

3537 

25-4 

68.6 

6.0 

1902-. 

57688 

I53I2 

38937 

3439 

26.5 

67.5 

6.0 

1903- 

76203 

i  9044!   53074 

4085 

25.0 

69.6 

5-4 

1904.. 

106236   23529!   772^4 

5483 

22.1 

72.7 

5-2 

1905  •• 

129910 

28553   95904 

5393 

22.0 

73-9 

4-1 

1906-- 

153748 

43620!  101875 

8253 

28.4 

66.2 

5-4 

1907  '  . 

149182 

37696  103779    7707 

25-3 

69.5 

5-2 

1908-  • 

103387 

26013'   71388 

5986 

25.1 

69.1 

5-8 

1909-. 

57551 

15210 

38465 

3876 

26.5 

66.7 

6.8 

1910-. 

84260 

21869 

57I9I 

5200 

26.0 

67.9 

6.1 

Total. 

1074442 

267656 

747985 

58801 

24.9 

69.6 

5-5 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration. 
TABLE  XXXVI 

AGE    OF   JEWISH   IMMIGRANTS  AT  THE    PORT  OF  NEW   YORK,   l886  TO  1898* 


Year 

Total 

Number 

Percentage 

Adults 

Children2 

Adults 

Children* 

Tgg6  

19548 

26946 
23958 
26963 
470Q8 

66544 
29059 

23444 
21422 
27846 
17362 
19222 

14212 
22223 
19456 
I7I55 
19449 
33343 
43155 
18314 
13142 
12366 
17052 
10226 
H530 

7490 
6803 
75H 
13755 
2338} 
10745 
10302 
9056 
10794 
7136 
7692 

72-7 
72.0 
72.2 
71.6 
72.1 
70.8 
64.8 
63.0 
56.1 
57.7 
61.2 

58.9 
60.0 

27.3 
28.0 
27.8 
28.4 
27.9 
29.2 
35-2 
37-0 
43-9 
42.3 
38.8 
41.1 
40.0 

1888 

jggg  

1890  

iRni 

i8n? 

TJ3/-J-J  .  . 

T  804  .... 

T  QQ  C  .  . 

rRn6 

T  8n7  .  . 

TQ0£.  . 

Total--. 

380278 

251623 

128655 

66.2 

33.8 

1  From  Reports  of  United  Hebrew  Charities  of  N.  Y.  City. 
*  Children  under  sixteen. 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [594 
TABLE  XXXVII 

SEX  OF  TOTAL  AND  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS,   1899  TO 


Year 

Total  immigrants 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent 

Per  cent 

Male 

Female 

Male 

Female 

1800  .. 

62.6 
67.8 

67.9 
71.9 

H 

70.6 
69-5 
72.4 
64.8 
69.2 
70.7 

37.4 
32.2 
32.1 
28.1 
28.5 
32.4 
29.4 

30-5 
27.6 
35-2 
30.8 
29-3 

56.5 
59-8 
55-7 
56.7 
57-7 
61.2 
63.2 
52.1 
54-0 
54-4 
54-0 
54-8 

43-5 
40.2 

44-3 
43-3 
42.3 
38.8 
36.8 

47-9 
46.0 
45-6 
46.0 
45-2 

1900  

IQOI   . 

IQ02  .  . 

loo1?  .  . 

1004  .  , 

loot;  .  , 

1906  

1007  .  . 

I008  .  . 

1000  .  . 

1010  .  . 

Total 

69.5 

30-5 

56.6 

43-4 

From  Reports  of  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration. 


595]  STATISTICAL  TABLES 

TABLE  XXXVIII 

SEX1  OF  EUROPEAN  IMMIGRANTS,2  1899  TO  I9IO: 


179 


People 

Total 

Number 

Per  cent 

Male 

Female 

Male 

Female 

Irish 

43Q724 
1074442 
100189 
i  '  5783 
754375 
408614 
586306 
136842 

I5I774 
949064 

377527 
175258 
338i5i 
147375 
372668 
I9H933 
355543 
216962 

210686 
607822 
57HI 
67217 
448054 
2|i42i 
362467 
86938 
100289 
659267 
266262 

123777 
244221 
109614 
291877 
1512968 
284866 
206306 

229038 
406620 
43078 
48566 
306321 

I57I93 
2238  '9 
4^904 
51485 
289797 
111265 
51481 
93930 
3776i 

80791 

408965 
50677 
10656 

47-9 
56.6 
57-0 
58.1 
59-4 
61.5 
61.8 

63.5 
66.1 

69-5 
70.5 
70.6 
72.2 
74-4 
783 
78.6 

84.9 
95-1 

52.1    - 
43-4    . 
43-0 
41.9 
40.6 

3^.5 
38.2 

36.5 
339 
30  5 
29-5 
29.4 
27.8 
25.6 
21.7  > 
21.4 
I5-I 
4.9 

30.5 

Jewish  
Bohemian  and  Moravian  . 
French    
German  

English  .            
Scandinavian 

Scotch                .           « 

Finnish       .    •    

Polish  
Slovak     

Lithuanian     •       

Magyar  
Ruthenian 

Italian  North    
Italian  South    
Croatian  and  Slovenian  .  . 
Greek  .    .           .       . 

Total*       .           .    . 

9555673 

6641367 

2914306 

69.5 

1  Arranged  in  order  of  percentage  of  females. 

2  Excluding  all  races  with  an  immigration  below  100,000. 
8  From  Statistical  Review  of  Immigration,  p.  49. 

4  Total  includes  all  races. 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [596 
TABLE  XXXIX 

AGE1  OF  EUROPEAN  IMMIGRANTS,2  1899  TO  1909. 


People 

Number 

Per  cent 

Total 

Under  14 

14  to  44 

45  and 
over 

Under  14 

14  to  44 

45  and 
over 

Jewish  
Bohemian  and 
Moravian  ... 
German 

990182 

91727 
682995 
112230 
355n6 
1719260 
534269 
820716 

3451" 

i  36038 
341888 
310049 
152544 
401342 
119468 

295981 
177827 

245787 

18965 
116416 
I7i57 
52459 
201492 
51220 
77963 

32157 
12623 
30645 
27312 
12004 
20247 
5537 

12711 
7314 

690794 

67487 
520437 
85123 
262334 
1416075 
457306 
723226 
302399 
119771 
297442 
270376 
I3788o 

363797 
110705 

273685 
168250 

53601 

5275 
46142 
9Q50 
40323 
101693 
25743 
19527 
10555 
3644 
13801 
12361 
2660 
17298 
3226 

9585 
2263 

412554 

24.8 

20.7 
17.0 
15.3 
14.8 

"•7 

9.6 

9-5 
9.3 
9-3 
9.0 

7-9 
5-0 

4.6 

4-3 
4.1 

69.8 

73-6 

76.2 
75-8 
73-9 

11 

87*6 
88.0 
87.0 
87.2 
90.4 
90.6 
92.7 

92.5 
94-6 

5-4 

5-8 
6.8 
8.9 
11.4 

C  .Q 
/d.O 

2.4 

3.1 
2.7 
4.0 
4.0 

1-7 

4.3 
2.7 

3-2 
1.3 

Scotch 

English 

Italian,  South. 
Scandinavian  . 
Polish  .  . 

Slovak  . 

Finnish 

Italian,  North. 
Magyar 

Lithuanian  .  .  . 
Irish 

Ruthenian  
Croatian  and 
Slovenian... 
Greek 

Total3.... 

8213034 

1013974 

6786506 

12.3 

82.6 

5-0 

1  Arranged  in  order  of  highest  percentage  of  children. 

2  Excluding  all  races  with  an  immigration  below  100,000,  except  the  Bohemian 
and  Moravian. 

3 Total  includes  all  European  races. 


597] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 


181 


TABLE  XL 
SEX,'  1899  TO  1910,  AND  AGE,2  1899  TO  1909,  OF  SLAVIC  AND  JEWISH 

IMMIGRANTS 


Group 

Sex—  per  cent 

Age—  per  cent 

Male 

Female 

Under  14 

14  to  44 

45  and  over 

Polish  

69.5 
74-4 
85.0 

70-5 
84.9 

5l^ 
56.6 

30.5 
25.6 
15.0 
29.5 

I5-I 

43-0 
43-4 

>i 
',', 

9-3 
4-3 

20.7 
24.8 

88.1 
92.7 
90.0 
87.6 

92.5 

73-6 
69.8 

2.4 
2.7 
2-5 
3-1 

3-2 

5.8 

5-4 

Ruthenian  ...   . 

C1nvob- 

Croatian  and 
Slovenian  
Bohemian  and 
Moravian  .... 

1  From  Statistical  Review  of  Immigration,  p.  49. 
'From  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  p.  25. 

TABLE  XLI 

A.   SEX  OF  ROUMANIAN   IMMIGRANTS,1   1899  TO  1910,  AND   OF  IMMIGRANTS 
FROM  ROUMANIA,2   1900  TO  I9IO 


Group 

Total 

Number 

Per  cent 

Male 

Female 

Male 

Female 

From  Roumania  

59467 
82704 

31968 
75238 

27499 
7466 

53-8 
91.0 

46.2 
9.0 

B.  AGE  OF  JEWISH  AND  ROUMANIAN  IMMIGRANTS3  1899  TO  1909 

Race 

Total 
number 

Number 

Per  cent 

Under 
14 

14  to 
44 

45  and 
over 

Under 

14 

14  to 
44 

45  and 
over 

Jewish  
Roumanian 

990182 
68505 

245787 
1476 

690794 
63997 

536oi 
3032 

24.8 

2.2 

69.8 
93.4 

5-4 
4-4 

1  From  Statistical  Review  of  Immigration,  pp.  44-48. 

2  From  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  p.  23. 
8 Ibid.,  p.  25. 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [598 
TABLE  XLII 

SEX  AND  AGE  OF  "  OLD  "AND  "  NEW  "  IMMIGRATION  (JEWISH  EXCEPTEO) , 
AND  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION,    1899  TO  IQOQ  l 


Group 

Total 

Sex—  per  cent 

Age  —  per  cent 

Male 

Female 

Under 

14  to 
44 

45  and 
over 

Old  immigration  •  .  - 
New  immigration 
(Jewish  excepted) 
Jewish  immigration' 

2273782 

4949070 
990182 

58.5 

76.3 
56.7 

41-5 

23.7 
43-3 

12.8 

9-7 
24.8 

80.4 

86.2 
69.8 

6.8 

4.1 
5-4 

From  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  pp.  23-26. 


TABLE  XLIII 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  AND  EMIGRATION,   !C.c8  TO  I9I2: 


Year 


Jewish  Jewish  Number 

immigrant  1    emigrant    j  departed  per  100 
aliens  •  aliens 3  admitted 


1908    .   .     .... 

I0^?87 

7702 

7 

c7ccj 

610^ 

IO 

1910       •       .... 

84260 

5683 

6 

JQI  J                     

QI22"? 

6401 

7 

80  ^Q1? 

74l8 

Q 

Tntal 

4  I  70  I  6 

•J-IOT  C 

8 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration. 
*  See  note,  page  93. 

'Emigrant  aliens  are  aliens  whose  permanent  residence  has  been  in 
the  United  States  and  who  intend  to  reside  permanently  abroad. 


599] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 
TABLE  XLIV 


183 


TOTAL   AND   JEWISH   EMIGRANT   ALIENS    AND.  PERCENTAGE  JEWISH  IMMI- 
GRANT ALIENS  OF  TOTAL  IMMIGRANT  ALIENS,  IQC8  TO  IQI2  ' 


Emigrant  aliens 

Immigrant  aliens 

-M 

C 

"c 

*o 

•«-» 

C 

0} 

G 
n 

"8 

Year 

£  t/> 

2* 

C*w 

1. 

-  £?</> 

C  «n 

31! 

j^^bfl  C 

^11 

~'£3    C 
Sga 

||  8 

H* 

A 

PH 

H'~ 

o>  •-*  rt 
•—  > 

(X, 

igo8  .... 

381044 

7702 

2.0 

782870 

103387 

13.2 

1909     ... 

225802 

6105 

2-7 

751876 

57551 

7.7 

1910  .... 
1911  .... 

202436 
295666 

5689 
6401 

2.8 
2.1 

1041570 
878587 

84260 
91223 

8.1 
10.4 

1912  .... 

333262 

7418 

2.2 

838172 

80595 

9-5 

Total   .   . 

1438210 

33315 

2-3 

4293075 

417016 

9.7 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration. 
TABLE  XLV 

EUROPEAN  IMMIGRANT  ALIENS  ADMITTED  !  AND  EUROPEAN  EMIGRANT 
ALIENS  DEPARTED,   1908,  1909  AND  IQIO2 


Immigrant  aliens 


admitted 

r.migrani  anens  ucpaneu 

People 

Number 

Per  cent 
of  total 

Number 

Per  cent 
of  total 

Number 
departed 
for  every 

admitted 

departed 

100  ad- 

mitted 

Jewish  

236100 

10.2 

i8« 

8 

Creation  and 

Slovenian  .  .  . 

78658 

3.4 

44316 

5-2 

56 

English  . 

101611 

4.4 

11152 

T    C 

German  
Greek  

192644 
862*7 

8.3 
a.7 

35823 
21196 

5-0 

19 
25 

Irish  

0^000 

4.0 

5728 

Italian,  North. 

77661 

3-3 

47870 

6.7 

62 

Italian,  South. 
Lithuanian  

457414 
51129 

19.8 

2.2 

255188 
7185 

35.7 

I.O 

56 
14 

Magyar  . 

78910 

269646 

3-4 

II.  7 

50597 
82080 

ii  4 

64 

Polish  

Ruthenian  

55106 

2-3 

6681 

•9 

12 

Scandinavian  .. 
Slovak 

113786 

70717 

4.8 
-j  n 

11193 

si 

10 

CQ 

Total3  

2297338 

713356 

32 

1  All  peoples  with  an  inward  movement  of  less  than  50,000  excluded. 
'From  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  p.  41. 
'Total  for  all  races,  including  Syrians. 


184        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [600 
TABLE  XLVI 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION   AND  EMIGRATION,  RUSSIA,  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  AND 
ROUMANIA,  IQ08  TO    IQI2  l 


Russia 

Austria-Hungary 

Roumania 

^Ti 

*0 

•o 

Year 

G 

-M 

c 

-o  «.i 

G 

v  o>  ii 

G 

a 

G 

•-1      £ 

03 

"P  ^  G 

rt  en 

£  T^  *3 

<-i  co 

rt  c/3 

1-    to 

J-<  C 

ll 

be  <u 

s'^ 

0|  S 

3   03  O 

be  c 

**.SJ 

'B^ 

111 

11 

II 

^'^^ 

£  ti  o 

hH 

w 

xa 

w 

W 

^ 

HH 

W 

^u« 

1908  .    .   . 

71978 

5439 

7 

15293 

1758 

ii 

4455 

158 

3 

1909      . 

39150 

3989 

10 

8431 

1398 

16 

1390 

87 

6 

1910  .   .   . 

59824 

3295 

5 

I3I42 

1409 

10 

1701 

101 

6 

1911  .    .   . 

65472 

3375 

5 

1278.5 

1827 

M 

2188 

78 

3 

1912  .   .   . 

58389 

4448 

7 

10757 

2121 

19 

1512 

122 

8 

Total.  . 

294813 

20546 

7 

60408 

8513 

14 

11246!    546 

5 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration. 
TABLE   XLVII 

POLISH   IMMIGRATION   AND   EMIGRATION,  RUSSIA  AND  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, 

1908  TO  1912  l 


Russian  Poles 

Austro-Hungarian  Poles 

,     ,_   4) 

-o 

Year 

G 

•M 

•o  pV- 

G 

^J 

"U     P|'"tli 

G 

w,     S 

2  co       '       G-  -~ 

«-     S 

s| 

•-  S 

•S 

1—  1 

w  rt 

|cx2 

•S 

wrt 

£a2 

1908    .... 

73122 

18187 

25 

59719 

28048 

47 

1909    .... 

37770 

8421 

22 

336483 

10292 

28 

1910    .... 

63635 

6705 

10 

'  60565 

9609 

15 

1911    .   .   .    • 

40193 

12276 

30 

27515 

1  8/99 

67 

1912    .... 

51244 

14701 

28 

30649 

22546 

73 

Total  .   .   . 

265964 

60290 

22 

214931 

88994 

41 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissioner- General  of  Immigration. 


6oi] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 


TABLE  XLVIII 
"OLD"  AND  "NEW"  (JEWISH  EXCEPTED)  AND  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION 

AND  EMIGRATION,  IQOS  TO  IQIO1 


Class 

Immigrant 
aliens 

Emigrant 
aliens 

Number 
departed  per  100 
admitted 

Old  immigration.    .    . 
New  immigration  (Jew  sh 
excepted)    
Jewish  immigration   . 

599732 

1461506 
236100 

79664 

6i5549 
18543 

13 

1 

Total    

2297338 

713356 

32 

1  From  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  p.  42. 
TABLE  XLIX 

EUROPEAN  IMMIGRANT  ALIENS,1  1907,  AND  EUROPEAN  EMIGRANT 
ALIENS,   1908 2 


People 

Immigrant  aliens, 
1907 

Emigrant  aliens,  1908 

Number 

Per  cent, 
of  total 

Number 

Per  cent, 
of  total 

Number 
departed 
per  100 
admitted 

Jewish  .  . 

149182 

27174 

47826 
51126 
92936 
46283 
38706 
51564 
242497 
25884 
60071 
138033 
53425 
42041 

12.  1 

2.2 
3-9 

4.1 
7-5 
3-7 
3-1 
4.2 
19.6 

2.1 
4.9 
II.  2 

4-3 
3-4 

7702 

5965 

28584 
5320 
14418 
6763 
2441 
19507 
147828 
3388 
29276 
46727 
5801 
23573 

2.0 

1.6 

7-5 
i-4 

?! 

.6 

38.'8 
•9 
7-7 
12.3 

£:! 

5 

22 

60 

10 

15 
14 

6 

g 

11 

33 
ii 
56 

Bulgarian, 
Servian  and 
Montenegrin 
Croatian  and 
Slovenian  .  .  . 
English 

German  . 

Greek   

Irish  

Italian,  North. 
Italian,  South  . 
Lithuanian  
Masfvar  .  . 

Polish  

Scandinavian  .. 
Slovak 

Total  

1237341  3 

381044 

32 

1  All  peoples  with  an  inward  movement  of  less  than  25,000  omitted, 

2  From  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  pp.  39-40. 

3  All  European  immigrants,  including  Syrians. 


!86        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [602 

TABLE  L 

TOTAL  EUROPEAN  IMMIGRANTS  ADMITTED1  AND  TOTAL  OF  THOSE 
ADMITTED  DURING  THIS  PERIOD  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 
PREVIOUSLY,    l8Q9  TO 


People 

Number 
admitted 

In  United  States  previously 

Number 

Per  cent  of 
admitted 

1074442 
100189 
355542 
408614 
I5I774 
I  5783 
754375 
216962 

439724 
372668 

I9H933 
175258 
337351 
949064 

147375 
586.^06 
136842 
377527 

22914 
4066 

43037 
103828 
17189 
33859 
86458 
12283 
80636 
56738 
262508 
6186 
39785 
65155 
18492 
86700 
27684 
71889 

2.1 

4-1 

12.8 

25-4 
ii.3 
29.2 

n.  5 

5-7 
18.3 
15-2 
13.7 
3-5 
11.8 

6.9 
12.5 
14.8 

20.2 

19.0 

Bohemian  and  Moravian.- 
Croatian  and  Slovenian  •  .  . 

Greek  

Irish  

Polish  

Slovak  

Total  s 

9220066 

1108948 

12.0 

1  All  peoples  with  an  immigration  below  100,000  omitted. 

2  From  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  p.  51. 
'Includes  all  European  peoples  entered  and  Syrians. 

TABLE  LI 

OCCUPATIONAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS,   1899  TO  I9I01 


Group 

Number 

Per  cent 

4841  7  5 

4C.I 

Skilled  laborers 

/3nc82'3 

-*6  8 

*JAZ.  C 

7 

186989 

17  4 

Total    .           .           .... 

I  074442 

100.  0 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration. 


603] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 
TABLE  LII 

JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS  REPORTING  OCCUPATIONS,  l8QQ  TO  IQIO 


Group 

Number 

Per  cent 

Professional      . 

•JA  re 

i  7 

Skilled  laborers    
Laborers                           • 

/^OO 
395823 

fjQAAA 

i'O 

67.1     t 
ii  8         / 

Servants  
JMerchants  and  dealers         •       •   • 

65532 
•3T4QT 

ii.  i 

5-j 

II460 

I  O 

IOO8 

2 

ROCT 

T   7 

*«o 

Total       .           

CQ0267 

IOO  O 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration. 


TABLE  LIII 

JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS  ENGAGED  IN  PROFESSIONAL  OCCUPATIONS 


Occupation 

Number 

Actors                                .        

272 

Architects.                    ...        

108 

Clergymen    

3co 

Editors  

84 

Electricians  .... 

7co 

484 

Lawyers                        ....                . 

74 

Literary  and  scientific  persons      .        

Musicians.        .        .        

1624 

Officials  (gov.)         

18 

290 

7C7 

2192 

Others                                        .    .            

Total. 

455 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissiomer-General  of  Immigration. 


188        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [604 

TABLE  LIV 

JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS  REPORTING  SKILLED  OCCUPATIONS,   l8QQ  TO  IQIO  l 

A .  Principal  skilled  occupations 


Occupation 

Number 

Per  cent 
of  total 
skilled 

Tailors  

14^272 

-?6  6 

Carpenters   joiners   etc  2               .   . 

40001 

TO   7 

Dressmakers  and  seamstresses  **  •   .                      . 

"30/182 

iu.,5 
10  0 

Shoemakers            .       

0-3  CTQ 

C   O 

Clerks  and  accountants  .       .   .       .   .       . 

17066 

~  -y 

40 

Painters  and  glaziers   ....   -       .                  .   . 

76087 

•6 
4-r 

Butchers   '.       .       .    . 

1  141  "\ 

-1 
2/-j 

Bakers  

TQQOC 

2  8 

n-3ge 

2  4 

Blacksmiths    ...       .   .       ... 

8CT7 

*••* 

2  2 

Total  

722867 

81  q 

B .  Other  skilled  occupations 


Occupation 

Number 

Tinners     ....       

6067 

4444 

Tobacco  workers          .       .           « 

47^O 

Hat  and  capmakers  ...               .               « 

ttOjV 
AO'/Cl 

Barbers  and  hairdressers    •               »               . 

4O^4 

\Veavers  and  spinners     .... 

-7Q77 

Tanners  and  curriers 

oy/1 

77T  ^ 

Furriers  and  fur  workers 

O/AO 

o  \AA 

•3(300 

2^07 

Plumbers      .    . 

o/i  ec 

Saddlers  and  harness  makers 

^4;>o 

277  T 

M  illiners 

22OI 

Metal  workers  (other  than  iron,  steel  and  tin)  . 

2231 
IOO7 

Jewelers    .    . 

18^7 

Millers   . 

TQQO 

Mechanics  (not  specified)  .           

120"? 

IIOQ 

lOI'? 

Iron  and  steel  workers 

604. 

Textile  workers  (not  specified)     
Others    

436 

i  ^0^8 

Total  

72Q  c6 

^0^82^ 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration. 

2  Seamstresses   are    included  with    dressmakers;  cabinetmakers   and 
woodworkers  (not  specified)  with  carpenters  and  joiners. 


6o5] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 
TABLE  LV 


189 


OCCUPATIONS    OF   TOTAL   EUROPEAN    AND    JEWISH    IMMIGRANTS,    l8gp   TO 


IQOQ,  AND  PERCENTAGE  JEWISH  OF  TOTAL 


Group 

Total 
immigrants 

Jewish 
immigrants 

Per  cent 
of  total 

8022? 

68-36 

Q    C 

12/476*7  A 

0.5 

I^/U/q. 
T2OO2O^ 

/-vA-3-J 

^y.i 

Farmers  ••  

84146 

yuoo 
or>8 

Common  laborers  

2282565 

66311 

2.Q 

f\  n 

oyuuy^ 
•?i6c/?87 

u.g 

44  o  7*° 

1/^uo^ 

ju^siy 

Total  

821  ^0^4 

990182 

T2    T 

1  From  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  p.  27. 
TABLE  LVI 

TOTAL  EUROPEAN    IMMIGRANTS1   AND   IMMIGRANTS   WITHOUT    OCCUPATION, 

TO  IQIO 2 


People 


Jewish 

Bohemian  and  Moravian 
Croatian  and  Slovenian. 

English 

Finnish 

French 

German 

Greek 

Irish 

Italian,  North 

Italian,  South 

Lithuanian 

Magyar 

Polish 

Ruthenian 

Scandinavian 

Scotch 

Slovak. 


Total 


1  All  races  with  an  immigration  below  100,000  omitted. 

2  From  Statistical  Review  of  Immigration,  p.  52. 
8  Total  includes  all  races. 


"Without  occupation 

Per  cent 

Immigrants 

(including  women 
and  children) 

of 
total 

1074442 

484175 

45-1 

100189 

39700 

39-5 

355542 

37219 

ii.  i 

408614 

158616 

38.8 

151774 

28766 

18.9 

"5783 

45745 

395 

745375 

296082 

39-7 

216962 

19244 

8.9 

439724 

63456 

14.4 

372668 

76046 

20.4 

I9H933 

440274 

23.0 

337  '8 

19.2 

33815  i 

78875 

23-3    r 

949064 

200634 

21.  1 

"47375 

18915 

I29 

586306 

II  1212 

18  9 

136842 

47634 

349 

377527 

87280 

23.1 

95556733 

2506713 

26.2 

JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [606 
TABLE  LVII 

OCCUPATIONS  OF  EUROPEAN  IMMIGRANTS  1  REPORTING  EMPLOYMENT, 
1899  TO  I9IO  2 


Per 

cent 

People 

Number  reporting 
employment 

In  professional 
occupations 

In  skilled 
occupations 

Laborers, 
including  farm 
laborers 

Miscellaneous 

Jewish                      ... 

500267 

1.3 

67.1 

17.7 

1  8.0 

Bohemian  and  Moravian  .  .    . 
Bulgarian,  Servian  and  Monte- 
negrin   
Croatian  and  Slovenian    .    .    . 

60489 

90991 
298324 

24QQC  8 

1-3 

.1 
.1 

9.0 

40.8 

3-3 

5° 

487 

28.5 

92.0 
86.4 
14.1 

29.4 

4.6 

85 

28.1 

123008 

.7 

6.0 

67.2 

26.5 

French    

7OO78 

93 

34  5 

26  o 

30.2 

German  
Greek  

458203 
IQ77l8 

3-5 

.7 

30.0 
7-7 

37-7 
862 

28.8 
5.8 

Irish    ...        

776268 

I   7 

126 

7C.  2 

5°  9 

296622 

I.I 

204 

66C 

120 

147  l6CQ 

•4 

14.6 

77.O 

7.9 

14  I  C4O 

.1 

67 

76.1 

17.2 

2^0276 

.c 

8.6 

77.  c 

134 

Polish  

7484  7O 

.2 

6.3 

7C.7 

1  8.1 

Roumanian    ....        .    . 

7cr  71 

.2 

2.7 

93.8 

3  3 

Russian  

6og86 

1.4. 

9.1 

82.7 

6.8 

Ruthenian      ........ 

128460 

.1 

20 

80.6 

17.4 

Scandinavian  ... 

47COQ1 

I  2 

20-5 

47.8 

34.5 

Scotch  .    . 

89208 

c  7 

57  9 

12.  1 

24.3 

Slovak    

2QO247 

j'l 
I 

4-4 

80.0 

15  5 

Total  

7O48QC'?  3 

1.4. 

20.  2 

7Q-3 

19.1 

1  All  races  with  an  immigration  below  50,000  omitted. 
J  From  Statistical  Review  of  Immigration,  p.  53. 
8  Total  includes  all  races. 


6o7] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 
TABLE  LVIII 


191 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  SLAVIC  AND  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS   REPORTING  EMPLOYMENT,  1899 

TO  IQIO  l 


a 

Per  cent 

& 

o 

People 

u 
o 

bl 

D 

"73  f- 

I 

if! 

I 

I, 

tr.    a 

it 

Ill 

a 
,5 

£§ 

t  % 

£  I 

6'" 

~~    O 

^  o 

s  C  s 

CO 

& 

c 

1—  1 

a 

8* 

53 

Jewish  .... 

590267 

i-3 

67.1 

I37 

18.0 

Bohemian  and 

Moravian  .    . 

60489 

1.3 

40.8 

28.5 

29.4 

Bulgarian, 

Servian  and 

Montenegrin. 
Croatian  and 

90991 

-1 

3-3 

92.0 

4-6 

Slovenian  .    . 

298324 

.1 

5° 

864 

85 

Polish    .... 

748430 

.2 

6-3 

75  3 

Russian.    .    .    . 

69986 

1.4 

827 

6.8 

Ruthenian.   .    . 

128460 

.1 

2.0 

80.6 

17.4 

Slovak  .... 

290247 

.1 

4-4 

80.0 

1From  Statistical  Review  of  Immigration,  p.  53. 
TABLE  L1X 

OCCUPATIONS  OF  "  OLD  "  AND  "NEW  "  IMMIGRATION  (JEWISH  EXCEPTED)  AND  OF 
JEWISH  IMMIGRATION,  1899  TO  I5C91 


"Old"  immigration 

"  New"  immigration 
(Jewish  excepted) 

Jewish 
immigration 

Occupations 

Number 

Per  cent 

Number 

Per  cent 

Number 

Per  cent 

Professional 

56406 

25 

17080 

•3 

6836 

•7 

Skilled  laborers.   . 

442754 

J95 

441984 

8.9 

362936 

36.7 

Farm  laborers  .    . 

13*59* 

6.1 

1142064 

23.1 

9*33 

I.O 

Farmers     .... 

40633 

1.8 

42605 

•9 

908 

i 

Common  laborers 

402074 

17.7 

18141*0 

36.7 

66^1  1 

67 

Servants    .... 

424698 

18.7 

403784 

8.2 

6161  1 

6.2 

No  occupation. 
Miscellaneous.  .    . 

6785  10 
90109 

29.8 
4.0 

1041049 
46324 

21.0 

•9 

445728 
36219 

450 

3-7 

Total.     . 

2273782 

ICO.O 

4949070 

ICO.O 

990182 

IOO.O 

1  From  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe,  p.  29. 


192 


JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES 


[608 


TABLE  LX 

ILLITERACY  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS,   iScjQ  TO  IQIO 


Year 

Jewish  immigrants 
14  years  of  age 
and  over 

Jewish  immigrant 
illiterates  2  14  years 
of  age  and  over 

Per  cent 
illiterate 

igOO   . 

28428 

c637 

IQ  £ 

IQ~O  . 

47672 

10607 

•yo 

22  2 

IQOI 

43367 

101  19 

233 

IQO2  . 

42376 

1  1921 

28   I 

1QO2  . 

C7ICQ 

14980 

26  2 

I  QO4  . 

82707 

18763 

22  6 

loot;  . 

ioi3<;7 

22770 

22  4 

IQGO  . 

110128 

2Q444 

26  7 

IUO7     . 

111486 

7l88i; 

28  6 

1908 

77-274 

2^217 

3O  3 

1909  

42341 

I22OI 

28  8 

IQIO  . 

623QI 

17963 

28  8 

Total  

806786 

209507 

26.0 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration. 

2  Those  who  could  neither  read  nor  write. 

TABLE  LXI 

SEX  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRANT   ILLITERATES,   IQ08  TO  IQI21 


Year 

Jewish  immigrants 
14  years  of  age 
and  over 

Jewish  immigrant  illiterates 
14  years  of  age  and  over 

Number 

Per  cent 

Male 

Female 

Male 

9*55 
4832 

7593 
6453 
5637 

Female 

Male 

Female 

1908  .    ,    .    . 

1909  .    -    -    . 
1910  .... 
1911  .    .    . 
1912  .    .    .    . 

4327° 

23452 
35272 
38018 
32706 

34104 
18889 
27120 

3*37° 

27799 

13762 

7369 
10370 
10304 
9498 

21.9 

20.6 

2'-5 
16.9 
17.2 

40.4 
39-0 
38.2 
32.8 
34.2 

Total  .  . 

172718 

139282 

3397° 

5*3°3 

19.7 

36.8 

1  In  order  to  ascertain  the  number  of  males  and  females,  14  years  of  age  and 
over,  the  number  of  Jewish  immigrants  under  14  years  of  age  were  distributed 
equally  between  the  sexes.  Subtracting  these  respectively  from  the  number  of 
males  and  females,  we  obtain  the  above  totals.  Cf.  Report  of  New  York  State 
Commission  on  Immigration,  1908,  p.  171. 


609] 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 
TABLE  LXII 

ILLITERACY  OF  EUROPEAN  IMMIGRANTS,1   1899  TO  I9IO2 


193 


People 

Immigrants  14 
years  of  age 
and  over 

Immigrant  illiterates  14 
years  of  age  and  over 

Number 

Per  cent 

Jewish 

806786 
79721 
320977 
347458 
137916 
625793 
208608 
416640 
339301 
1690376 
161441 
307082 
861303 
140775 
530634 
H5788 
342583 

209507 
1322 
115/85 
3647 
1745 
32236 
55089 
10721 

38897 
911566 
79001 
35004 
304675 
75i65 

2221 

767 
82216 

26.0 

*:? 

I.O 

i-3 

5-2 

26.4 

2.6 

ii.  5 
53-9. 
48.9 
11.4 
35-4 
53-4 
•4 
•  7 
24.0 

Bohemian  and  Moravian.. 
Croatian  and  Slovenian.  .  . 
English                       

Finnish                  

German              

Greek            

Irish  

Italian    North 

Italian    South 

Lithuanian                        .    - 

^Magyar                    

Polish              

Ruthenian         

Scandinavian  ,  

Scotch  

Slovak  

Total3  

8398624 

2238801 

26.7 

*A11  peoples  with  an  immigration  below  100,000  excluded,  except  the 
Bohemian  and  Moravian. 

3  From  Statistical  Review  of  Immigration,  p.  51. 
3  Total  for  all  races. 


I94        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [610 

TABLE  LXtll 

ILLITERACY  OF  "OLD  "  AND  "NEW"  IMMIGRATION  (JEWISH    EXCEPTED)   AND  OF 
JEWISH  IMMIGRATION,  1899  TO  1909  l 


Classed 

Immigrants  14 
years  of  age 
and  over 

Immigrant   illiterates   14 
years  of  age  and  over 

Number 

Per  cent. 

Old  immigration  ....        .    . 

1983618 

4471047 

744395 

52833 

1667754 
19*544 

2.7 

37-3 

25-7 

New  immigration  (Jewish  ex- 
cepted)  

Jewish  immigration.    .    .        .    . 

Total  

7199060 

1912131 

26.6 

1  From  Emigration  Conditions  in  Europe^  p.  30. 
TABLE  LXIV 

ILLITERACY  OF  PEOPLES  FROM  EASTERN  EUROPE,  1899  TO  1910  l 


People 

Immigrants  14 
years  of  age  and 
over 

Illiterates 

Number 

Per  cent. 

Jewish  

806786 
161441 
861303 
77479 

M0775 

209507 
79001 

3°4<75 
29777 
75^5 

26.0 
48.9 

P:44 

63  4 

Lithuanian    .        .    .        . 

Polish    .                    .... 

Russian  ....        .        4    .    . 

Ruthenian             

1  From  Statistical  Rcvitiu  of  Immigration,  p.  51. 
TABLE  LXV 

SEX  OF  ILLITERATES  OF  PEOPLES  FROM  EASTERN   EURCPF,  1908 


Race 

Number  illiterates  14  years 
and  over 

Per  cent. 

Male 

Female 

Male 

Female 

Jewish  

9455 
4215 
J4573 
5820 
4203 

13762 

2>V97 
88  n 
828 
1836 

21.9 

534 

367 
40  i 
49.6 

40.4 

63-4 
429 
508 
57-4 

Polish  

1  From  Report  of  New  York  State  Commission  on  Immigration,  1908,  p.  171 


6ll]  STATISTICAL  TABLES 

TABLE  LXVI 

DESTINATION  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS,    1899  TO  1910,  BY  DIVISION  1 


195 


Division 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent 

North  Atlantic  States    

927C49 

860 

North  Central  States     

110998 

IO  7 

South  Atlantic  States    

25149 

2  7 

South  Central  States  '.    . 

8124 

.8 

Western  States  

6384 

.6 

Total  

1074404  2 

IOO  O 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissioner- General  of  Immigration. 

1  27  were  destined  for  Alaska,  Hawaii,  and  Porto  Rico,  and  n  were  tourists. 


TABLE  LXVII 

DESTINATION  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS,   1899  to  IQIO, 
BY  PRINCIPAL  STATES 


State 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  of  total 

New  York  

690296 

64  2 

Pennsylvania  ,    .    .    .        ... 

108574 

IO  I 

*r~53* 

66023 

6  i 

COQ7I 

4  7 

7127Q 

•7   2 

Ohio    

2OC7I 

I  q 

Maryland     .                 ...            . 

^33 

I87OO 

I    7 

Connecticut    

162^4 

I    c 

Missouri               

1  2476 

*•.> 

I    2 

Minnesota  

7O2Q 

7 

6769 

6 

CQ7O 

6 

Rhode  Island  

CO27 

c 

All  others   

7IO8Q 

30 

•w 

Total  

IO744O4  * 

IOO  O 

1  Cf.  note  2  of  table  LXVI. 


I96        JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  TO  UNITED  STATES      [612 
TABLE  LXVIII 

PERCENTAGE  OF  JEWISH  AND  TOTAL  IMMIGRANTS  DESTINED  FOR  EACH 
DIVISION,  1899  TO  1910  l 


Division 

Per  cent,  of  total 
immigrants 

Per  cent  of  Jewish 
immigrants 

North  Atlantic  States  

67.5 

86.0 

North  Central  States 

22  4. 

IO  3 

South  Atlantic  States   .    .    . 

2  7 

2  1 

South  Central  States 

i  8 

% 

Western  .                                 ... 

c  6 

6 

Total      

IOO  O 

ICO.O 

From  Reports  of  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration. 


TABLE  LXIX 

PARTICIPATION  OF  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS  IN  DESTINATION  OF  TOTAL 
IMMIGRANTS,   1899  TO  I9IO,  BY  DIVISION 


Division 

Total  immigrants 

Jewish  immigrants 

Per  cent  Jewish 
of  total 

North  Atlantic  .    . 
North  Central   .    . 
South  Atlantic  .    . 
North  Central   .    . 
Western  

6368243 
2116327 
254936 
167427 

532824 

923549 
110998 
25149 
8324 
6384 

"4-5 

5-2 
99 
5-0 

1.2 

Total  .... 

9439757 

1074404* 

ii.  4 

1  From  Reports  of  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration. 
*  Cf.  note  2  of  table  LXVI. 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  A. 

PRESIDENT  HARRISON'S  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS, 
DECEMBER  g,  1891. l 

This  Government  has  found  occasion  to  express  in  a  friendly 
spirit,  but  with  much  earnestness,  to  the  Government  of  the 
Czar  its  concern  because  of  the  harsh  measures  now  being  en- 
forced against  the  Hebrews  in  Russia.  By  the  revival  of 
antisemitic  laws,  long-  in  abeyance,  great  numbers  of  those 
unfortunate  people  have  been  constrained  to  abandon  their 
homes  and  leave  the  Empire  by  reason  of  the  impossibility  of 
finding  subsistence  within  the  pale  to  which  it  is  sought  to 
confine  them.  The  immigration  of  these  people  to  the  United 
States — many  other  countries  being  closed  to  them — is  largely 
increasing  and  is  likely  to  assume  proportions  which  may 
make  it  difficult  to  find  homes  and  employment  for  them  here 
and  to  seriously  affect  the  labor  market.  It  is  estimated  that 
over  1,000,000  will  be  forced  from  Russia  in  a  few  years. 
The  Hebrew  is  never  a  beggar  ;  he  has  always  kept  the  law — 
life  by  toil — often  under  severe  and  oppressive  civil  restrictions. 
It  is  also  true  that  no  race,  set  or  class  has  more  fully  cared 
for  its  own  than  the  Hebrew  race.  But  the  sudden  transfer  of 
such  a  multitude  under  conditions  that  tend  to  strip  them  of 
their  small  accumulations  and  to  depress  their  energies  and 
courage  is  neither  good  for  them  nor  for  us. 

The  banishment,  whether  by  direct  decree  or  by  not  less 
certain  indirect  methods,  of  so  large  a  number  of  men  and 
women  is  not  a  local  question.  A  decree  to  leave  one  country 
is  in  the  nature  of  things  an  order  to  enter  another — some 
other.  This  consideration,  as  well  as  the  suggestion  of  hu- 
manity, furnishes  ample  ground  for  the  remonstrances  which 
we  have  presented  to  Russia,  while  our  historic  friendship  for 
that  government  can  not  fail  to  give  assurance  that  our  repre- 
sentations are  those  of  a  sincere  wellwisher. 

1  (Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents,  1789-1897,  vol.  ix,  1889-97, 
p.  188.  Washington,  1898). 

615]  109 


APPENDIX  B. 

ARTICLE  VII  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  ROUMANIA. 
Difference  in  religious  beliefs  and  confessions  does  not  con- 
stitute in    Roumania  an  obstacle  to  the  obtainment  of  civil 
and  political  rights,  nor  to  the  exercise  of  these  rights. 

1 i )  A  foreigner  without  distinction  of  religion,  and  whether 
a  subject  or  not  of  a  foreign  government,  can  become  natura- 
lized under  the  following  conditions  : 

(a)  He  shall  address  to  the  government  an  application  for 
naturalization,    in    which    he    shall    indicate    the    capital  he 
possesses,  the  profession  or  craft  which  he  follows,  and  his 
abode  in  Roumania. 

(b)  He  shall  reside,  after  this  application,  ten  years  in  the 
country,  and  prove,  by  action,  that  he  is  of  service  to  it. 

(2)  The  following  may  be  exempted  from  the  intermediary 
stages  : 

(a)  Those  who  have  brought  into  the  country  industries, 
useful  inventions,  or  talent,  or  who  have  founded  large  estab- 
lishments of  commerce  or  industry. 

(b)  Those  who,  born  and  bred   in  Roumania,  of   parents 
established  in  the  country,  have  never  been  subjected,  either 
themselves  or  their  parents,  to  any  protection  by  a  foreign 
power. 

(c)  Those  who  have  served  under  the  colors  during  the 
war  of  independence ;   these  may  be  naturalized  collectively 
by  government  decree,  by  a    single  resolution,  and  without 
any  further  formality. 

(3)  Naturalization  can  not  be    given  except  by  law,  and 
individually. 

(4)  A  special  law  shall  determine  the  manner  in  which  for- 
eigners may  establish  their  home  on  Roumanian  territory. 

(5)  Only  Roumanians,  and  those  who  have  been  naturalized 
Roumanians,  can  buy  rural  estates  in  Roumania. 

200  [616 


APPENDIX  C, 

SECRETARY  HAY'S  NOTE. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,      ) 
WASHINGTON,  August  11,  1902.  J 

"  Excellency  :-In  the  course  of  an  instruction  recently  sent 
to  the  Minister  accredited  to  the  Government  of  Roumania 
in  regard  to  the  bases  of  negotiation  begun  with  that  govern- 
ment looking  to  a  convention  of  naturalization  between  the 
United  States  and  Roumania,  certain  considerations  were  set 
forth  for  the  Minister's  guidance  concerning-  the  character 
of  the  emigration  from  that  country,  the  causes  which  con- 
strain it,  and  the  consequences  so  far  as  they  adversely  affect 
the  United  States. 

"  It  has  seemed  to  the  President  appropriate  that  these  con- 
siderations, relating  as  they  do  to  the  obligations  entered  into 
by  the  signatories  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  of  July  13,  1878, 
should  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Governments  con- 
cerned, and  commended  to  their  consideration  in  the  hope 
that,  if  they  are  so  fortunate  as  to  meet  the  approval  of  the 
several  Powers,  such  measures  as  to  them  may  seem  wise  may 
be  taken  to  persuade  the  Government  of  Roumania  to  recon- 
sider the  subject  of  the  grievances  in  question. 

'The  United  States  welcomes  now,  as  it  has  welcomed 
from  the  foundation  of  its  Government,  the  voluntary  immi- 
gration of  all  aliens  coming  hither  under  conditions  fitting 
them  to  become  merged  in  the  body  politic  of  this  land.  Our 
laws  provide  the  means  for  them  to  become  incorporated  in- 
distinguishably  in  the  mass  of  citizens,  and  prescribe  their  ab- 
solute equality  with  the  native  born,  guaranteeing  to  them 
equal  civil  rights  at  home  and  equal  protection  abroad.  The 
conditions  are  few,  looking  to  their  coming  as  free  agents,  so 
617]  201 


202  APPENDIX  C  [618 

circumstanced  physically  and  morally  as  to  supply  the  health- 
ful and  intelligent  material  of  free  citizenhood.  The  pauper, 
the  criminal,  the  contagiously  or  incurably  diseased  are  ex- 
cluded from  the  benefits  of  immigration  only  when  they  are 
likely  to  become  a  source  of  danger  or  a  burden  upon  the 
community.  The  voluntary  character  of  their  coming  is  essen- 
tial ;  hence  we  shut  out  all  immigration  assisted  or  constrained 
by  foreign  agencies.  The  purpose  of  our  generous  treatment 
of  the  alien  immigrant  is  to  benefit  us  and  him  alike — not  to 
afford  to  another  state  a  field  upon  which  to  cast  its  own  ob- 
jectionable elements.  The  alien,  coming  hither  voluntarily 
and  prepared  to  take  upon  himself  the  preparatory  and  in  due 
course  the  definitive  obligations  of  citizenship,  retains  there- 
after, in  domestic  and  international  relations,  the  initial 
character  of  free  agency,  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  which  it  is 
incumbent  upon  his  adoptive  State  to  protect  him. 

*'  The  foregoing  considerations,  whilst  pertinent  to  the  exam- 
ination of  the  purpose  and  scope  of  a  naturalization  treaty, 
have  a  larger  aim.  It  behooves  the  State  to  scrutinize  most 
jealously  the  character  of  the  immigration  from  a  foreign 
land,  and,  if  it  be  obnoxious  to  objection,  to  examine  the 
causes  which  render  it  so.  Should  those  causes  originate  in 
the  act  of  another  sovereign  State,  to  the  detriment  of  its 
neighbors,  it  is  the  prerogative  of  an  injured  State,  to  point 
out  the  evil  and  to  make  remonstrance  :  for  with  nations,  as 
with  individuals  the  social  law  holds  good,  that  the  right  of 
each  is  bounded  by  the  right  of  the  neighbor. 

"The  condition  of  a  large  class  of  the  inhabitants  of  Rou- 
mania  has  for  many  years  been  a  source  of  grave  concern  to 
the  United  States.  1  refer  to  the  Roumanian  Jews,  numbering 
some  400,000.  Long  ago,  while  the  Danubian  principalities 
labored  under  oppressive  conditions,  which  only  war  and  a 
general  action  of  European  powers  sufficed  to  end,  the  perse- 
cution of  the  indigenous  Jews  under  Turkish  rule  called  forth 
in  1872  the  strong  remonstrance  of  the  United  States.  The 
Treaty  of  Berlin  was  hailed  as  a  cure  for  the  wrong,  in  view 
of  the  express  provisions  of  its  forty-fourth  article,  prescribing 


619]  APPENDIX  C  203 

that  "in  Roumania,  the  difference  of  religious  creeds  and  con- 
fessions shall  not  be  alleged  against  any  person  as  ground  for  ex- 
clusion or  incapacity  in  matters  relating  to  the  enjoyment  of 
civil  and  political  rights,  admission  to  public  employments, 
functions,  and  honors,  or  the  exercise  of  the  various  professions 
and  industries  in  any  locality  whatsoever,"  and  stipulating 
freedom  in  the  exercise  of  all  forms  of  worship  to  Roumanian 
dependents  and  foreigners  alike,  as  well  as  guaranteeing  that 
all  foreigners  in  Roumania  shall  be  treated,  without  distinction 
of  creed,  on  a  footing  of  perfect  equality. 

'  With  the  lapse  of  time  these  just  prescriptions  have  been 
rendered  nugatory  in  great  part,  as  regards  the  native  Jews, 
by  the  legislation  and  municipal  regulations  of  Roumania. 
Starting  from  the  arbitrary  and  controvertible  premise  that 
the  native  Jews  of  Roumania  domiciled  there  for  centuries 
are  "aliens  not  subject  to  foreign  protection,"  the  ability  of 
the  Jew  to  earn  even  the  scanty  means  of  existence  that  suf- 
fice for  a  frugal  race  has  been  constricted  by  degrees,  until 
nearly  every  opportunity  to  win  a  livelihood  is  denied  ;  and 
until  the  helpless  poverty  of  the  Jew  has  constrained  an  exo- 
dus of  such  proportions  as  to  cause  general  concern. 

"The  political  disabilities  of  the  Jews  in  Roumania,  their 
exclusion  from  the  public  service  and  the  learned  professions, 
the  limitations  of  their  civil  rights  and  the  imposition  upon 
them  of  exceptional  taxes,  involving  as  they  do  wrongs  repug- 
nant to  the  moral  sense  of  liberal  modern  peoples,  are  not  so 
directly  in  point  for  my  present  purpose  as  the  public  acts 
which  attack  the  inherent  right  of  man  as  a  breadwinner  in 
the  ways  of  agriculture  and  trade.  The  Jews  are  prohibited 
from  owning  land,  or  even  from  cultivating  it  as  common 
laborers.  They  are  debarred  from  residing  in  the  rural  dis- 
tricts. Many  branches  of  petty  trade  and  manual  production 
are  closed  to  them  in  the  overcrowded  cities  where  they  are 
forced  to  dwell  and  engage,  against  fearful  odds,  in  the  des- 
perate struggle  for  existence.  Even  as  ordinary  artisans  or 
hired  laborers  they  may  only  find  employment  in  proportion 
of  one  "unprotected  alien"  to  two  "Roumanians"  under 


204  APPENDIX  C  [620 

any  one  employer.  In  short,  by  the  cumulative  effect  of 
successive  restrictions,  the  Jews  of  Roumania  have  become 
reduced  to  a  state  of  wretched  misery.  Shut  out  from  nearly 
every  avenue  of  self-support  which  is  open  to  the  poor  of  other 
lands,  and  ground  down  by  poverty  as  the  natural  result  of 
their  discriminatory  treatment,  they  are  rendered  incapable  of 
lifting-  themselves  from  the  enforced  degradation  they  endure. 
Even  were  the  fields  of  education,  of  civil  employment  and  of 
commerce  open  to  them  as  to  "  Roumanian  citizens,"  their 
penury  would  prevent  their  rising:  by  individual  effort.  Hu- 
man beings  so  circumstanced  have  virtually  no  alternatives 
but  submissive  suffering  or  flight  to  some  land  less  unfavora- 
ble to  them.  Removal  under  such  conditions  is  not  and  can- 
not be  the  healthy,  intelligent  emigration  of  a  free  and  self- 
reliant  being.  It  must  be,  in  most  cases,  the  mere  transplan- 
tation of  an  artificially  produced  diseased  growth  to  a  new 
place. 

"  Granting:  that,  in  better  and  more  healthful  surroundings, 
the  morbid  conditions  will  eventually  change  for  good,  such 
emigration  is  necessarily  for  a  time  a  burden  to  the  community 
upon  which  the  fugitives  may  be  cast.  Self-reliance  and  the 
knowledge  and  ability  that  evolve  the  power  of  self-support 
must  be  developed,  and,  at  the  same  time,  avenues  of  employ- 
ment must  be  opened  in  quarters  where  competition  is  already 
keen  and  opportunities  scarce.  The  teachings  of  history  and 
the  experience  of  our  own  nation  show  that  the  Jews  possess 
in  a  high  degree  the  mental  and  moral  qualifications  of  con- 
scientious citizenhood.  No  class  of  immigrants  is  more  wel- 
come to  our  shores,  when  coming  equipped  in  mind  and  body 
for  entrance  upon  the  struggle  for  bread,  and  inspired  with  the 
high  purpose  to  give  the  best  service  of  heart  and  brain  to  the 
land  they  adopt  of  their  own  free  will.  But  when  they  come 
as  outcasts,  made  doubly  paupers  by  physical  and  moral  op- 
pression in  their  native  land,  and  thrown  upon  the  long-suffer- 
ing generosity  of  a  more  favored  community,  their  migration 
lacks  the  essential  conditions  which  make  alien  immigration 
either  acceptable  or  beneficial.  So  well  is  this  appreciated  on 


621]  APPENDIX  C  205 

the  Continent  that,  even  in  the  countries  where  anti-Semitism 
has  no  foothold,  it  is  difficult  for  these  fleeing-  Jews  to  obtain 
any  lodgment.  America  is  their  only  goal. 

"The  United  States  offers  asylum  to  the  oppressed  of  all 
lands.  But  its  sympathy  with  them  in  no  wise  impairs  its 
just  liberty  and  right  to  weigh  the  acts  of  the  oppressor  in 
the  light  of  their  effects  upon  this  country  and  to  judge  ac- 
cordingly. 

"  Putting  together  the  facts  now  plainly  brought  home  to 
this  Government  during  the  past  few  years,  that  many  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Roumania  are  being  forced,  by  artificially  ad- 
verse discriminations,  to  quit  their  native  country ;  that  the 
hospitable  asylum  offered  by  this  country  is  almost  the  only 
refuge  left  to  them  ;  that  they  come  hither  unfitted,  by  the  condi- 
tions of  their  exile,  to  take  part  in  the  new  life  of  this  land  under 
circumstances  either  profitable  to  themselves  or  beneficial  to 
the  community ;  and  that  they  are  objects  of  charity  from  the 
outset  and  for  a  long  time — the  right  of  remonstrance  against 
the  acts  of  the  Roumanian  Government  is  clearly  established  in 
favor  of  this  Government.  Whether  consciously  and  of  purpose 
or  not,  these  helpless  people,  burdened  and  spurned  by  their 
native  land,  are  forced  by  the  sovereign  power  of  Roumania 
upon  the  charity  of  the  United  States.  This  Government 
cannot  be  a  tacit  party  to  such  an  international  wrong.  It  is 
constrained  to  protest  against  the  treatment  to  which  the  Jews 
of  Roumania  are  subjected,  not  alone  because  it  has  unimpeach- 
able ground  to  remonstrate  against  the  resultant  injury  to 
itself,  but  in  the  name  of  humanity.  The  United  States  may 
not  authoritatively  appeal  to  the  stipulations  of  the  Treaty  of 
Berlin  to  which  it  was  not  and  cannot  become  a  signatory, 
but  it  does  earnestly  appeal  to  the  principles  consigned  therein 
because  they  are  the  principles  of  international  law  and  eternal 
justice,  advocating  the  broad  toleration  which  that  solemn 
compact  enjoins  and  standing  ready  to  lend  its  moral  support 
to  the  fulfilment  thereof  by  its  co-signatories,  for  the  act  of 
Roumania  itself  has  effectively  joined  the  United  States  to 
them  as  an  interested  party  in  this  regard. 


206  APPENDIX  C  [622 

c<  You  will  take  an  early  occasion  to  read  this  instruction  to 
the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  and,  should  he  request  it,, 
leave  with  him  a  copy. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

"Your  obedient  servant, 

"JOHN  HAY  "... 


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